Confessions
by proudofubabe
Summary: The title really says it all. It's a babe fic in the end!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Not my characters and they may seem to be OOC at times. Takes place after LMT. Don't know how many spoilers there'll be. This fic was inspired by a drama that took place on my husband's side of the family. And well Stace said I needed to write it.

Thanks Stayce for editing.

Confessions

Chapter One

My mother's kitchen had never felt as small as it did at this very moment. I was finding it hard to breathe, and my eyes couldn't focus. There was very little in life that shocked me anymore, but I was beyond shocked. I was outraged, yet some part of me was curious, and in fact the entire confession was quite confusing.

If I was being honest with myself it explained a lot. The reason I never really fit in. The square peg trying to fit into the round hole, I called The Burg. Over the years parts of me tried to fit myself in the mold. I got married to a young attorney trying to make a name for himself, and he succeeded in that. The scum sucking, cheating, dick. He was out banging every female with two legs that couldn't outrun him before I even had a chance to change my undies. After the legendary divorce, I was back to being the outcast of the neighborhood.

"Stephanie, I know I should have told you this sooner," my mother said, her voice cracking.

"You think?" I snapped, and instantly felt bad for being so pissed.

"I know you're upset, and you have every right to be, but this isn't easy for me, either. I've been ashamed of myself for the past 30 years."

"So why now, Mom? Why are you finally telling me this now?" I asked. "And how is it that nobody ever knew? The Burg isn't exactly a place that keeps secrets."

"I met Alassandro Dante Mancini a year after Val was born. He was a handsome, young Italian man that just moved into the area, and he was charming. Very charming. Your dad and I were having problems. It's no excuse, but I found myself easily sucked into the affair. Dante was so kind to me. There were no expectations with us. He just let me be me.

"At first there was nothing physical between us. He was just a friend, supporting me and listening to me. He never told me I couldn't do something. The possibilities were endless as far as he was concerned. He made me feel good about myself. Like I could be more than just a Burg housewife. I wanted to be more, but that's not how I was raised," my mother explained.

Through my anger, I knew what she meant. It was still hard for me to comprehend, though. Why was she so hard on me, badgering me to fit into the mold when she hadn't wanted to fit into the mold either?

"We were careful, but once our affair turned physical it became more difficult, and as you know, there are no secrets in The Burg." She sighed and ran a hand down her already perfectly straight apron. "The thing about The Burg is when they know there's an affair going on they whisper about it behind closed doors. Nobody likes to be the one that says what they know out loud."

I couldn't stop the snort from escaping me. That was something I knew about first hand. Nobody ever told me about all the affairs Dickie had. Not once was I informed. I never even heard the slightest rumor. In fact if I hadn't caught him going at it on my dinning room table, I probably never would have known.

"Did you love him?" I asked, staring her in the eyes.

"I loved how he made me feel. Loved the encouragement. He made me want so much out of life, but I still loved your father no matter what. I always held myself back from Rico because there was always this guilt when we were intimate. He knew I was married and had a little girl, so he didn't push. He never asked me to get a divorce, and I never offered. What we had was beautiful for the moment, but it wasn't a forever thing.

"One day I decided I couldn't do it any longer and broke it off. He moved away the next day, and I went back to your father. I told him everything, and he forgave me." She paused and took a deep breath. "I found out I was pregnant a month later. Your dad and I talked about it and it was decided that he would raise you as his own."

"Did you ever find out for sure?" I asked through the lump in my throat.

"No, we didn't. There was no need to," she said.

"Why are you telling me this now? Why after all this time are you now telling me that the man I've always thought conceived me didn't?" I asked.

"Because I see a lot of me in you. I know you love Joseph, but I can see that you aren't completely sure of it either. You've never fit into the mold, and as much as I've tried to force you to fit, you never have. I don't think you ever will. I told you this, hopping you'd take a good long look at the direction your life is headed."

I started to interrupt, but she held up a hand to quite me.

"I'm talking romantically, Stephanie. Is Joe who you want to be with for the rest of your life? I know once you're married you'd never consider an affair, so you need to be sure. Do you love Joe enough to make it work? Forever!"

I looked at her unblinking. Never did I think I'd hear her utter 'think about it' words when it came to marrying Morelli. She'd always been too happy to push me into a marriage with him. My eyes dropped to my left hand, the diamond sparkling back at me. We'd been engaged for three months now and planned to get married in four more. I admit that I hesitated when he proposed, but in the end I knew I loved him, and he was willing to commit to me for a lifetime, so I said yes.

"Why are you saying all this?" I asked, my eyes narrowing.

"The light's gone out of your eyes a little bit in the last few months. I just wondered if that light left when Ranger left?" she asked, watching me carefully.

I dropped my eyes, staring at the table. The day after I'd told Ranger I was getting married to Morelli he left town. He hadn't been back since. I hadn't heard from him the entire time, either. I'd tried to call him several times, but every time I went to hit send I chickened out and canceled the call. I didn't know what I'd say anyway, so it was better that I never called him. He obviously left for a reason, and that reason might have nothing to do with me. It could just be a coincidence that he left when he did. Why would he leave just because I was marrying Morelli? That was just ridiculous and not to mention arrogant, conceited, bigheaded. His love didn't come with a ring after all, so why would he care if I was making that step with Morelli.

"I don't know why Ranger left," I said, quietly.

"Do you miss him?" she asked, laying a hand over mine.

It was a weird gesture and even slightly uncomfortable. My family didn't show emotions. We spoke of love with food. Mom baked me a cake to say she loved me. She didn't touch me all that often in a loving way. It just wasn't how we were. And all the mushy talk wasn't who we were either. I didn't know how to have conversations like this. And I certainly didn't know how to explain my relationship with Ranger to her, but my first thought was that I did miss him. I missed him every day, and just beyond missing him I was worried that he was never coming back. That would leave a Ranger sized hole in my heart, that I didn't think I could ever fill. It's hard to hand another man your heart on your wedding day when you didn't have all of it to give. But did I really have it all now? That was something I didn't want to think about.

"He's my friend."

"Yes, but that doesn't answer if you miss him or not. I know you love him. I can see it in your eyes when his name is brought up."

I looked away and worked on finding the blank mask Ranger always sported. "Yes I miss him. I think it's more because I don't know why he left, or where he is, or if he's coming back."

"Have you ever told him you love him?" she asked, leaning back in her chair but keeping her eyes on me.

I shook my head no and pushed back from the table. I gave her a small smile as I stood to leave. "Joe's going to be home soon. I better get going," I said, grabbing my handbag off the table.

I stuffed myself in my coat, wrapped a scarf around my neck, and headed for the door. I paused just outside the dinning room and looked around. The house was empty and quiet, but it always felt so lived in. The Christmas tree sat next to the TV, the lights flashing in a swirly pattern. Decorations hung from the limbs. Some made when I was child and others from my nieces. I could see the 'Dad of the year' ornament I made in the third grade positioned right in the middle for all to see. The only thing missing were the presents that were opened five days ago.

I turned away from the tree and walked to the door, my thoughts a jumbled mess. Mom opened the door for me, and I stepped though, pushing the storm door open. I stopped, holding the door and looked over my shoulder. Mom's eyes rose to meet mine.

"Thank you for telling me all this," I said. She nodded, and I let the door close behind me.

It was snowing again. Soft white flakes drift down to Earth. I closed my eyes and silently breathed in the fresh winter air. What did any of this mean? Did it matter? I didn't have the answers. I honestly didn't know how to feel or what was right to feel. I opened my eyes and walked to my car.

The drive back to Morelli's house was made in silence. No radio, no talking to myself, no internal thoughts. I just drove, and pulled into the driveway five minutes later, parking behind Morelli's SUV. I trudged up the driveway and kicked my boots off on the doorframe before stepping through the front door.

"That you, Cupcake," Morelli hollered from the living room.

The TV was on, a game playing loudly as I stepped into the living room. There were pizza boxes open and beer bottles lining the coffee table. Mooch Morelli and two of the guys from the station sat on all the available furniture, eyes focused on the ball game in front of them.

"Hey," I said and moved to the kitchen.

"There's a meatball sub on the counter for you," Morelli said. "Could you bring me another beer, Cupcake?"

There was a chorus of 'me toos' from the living room. I took a deep breath, grabbed four beers from the fridge, and dropped them off in the living room on my way to the stairs. This wasn't want I needed tonight. I needed … I didn't know what I needed, but I knew a house full of the guys wasn't it. I wished he would have called me. Checked with me at least. Maybe prepared me.

I dropped down onto the bed with a groan. "And this is why I didn't want to give up my apartment, yet," I said out loud to myself.

_Or at all_, the little voice in my head said. That should tell me something, shouldn't it?

I'd been living at Morelli's full time since the beginning of December. There had been times when I craved the alone time and my own space, but for the most part cohabitating hadn't been too bad. It could just be that the expectations hadn't started, yet. I knew they'd come in at some point. I'd made it clear that if we were going to work, if the marriage was going to really work, then he couldn't expect me to change my life completely for him. He had to compromise. I wasn't quitting Vinnie's. I liked what I did. My compromise was that I wouldn't go after any dangerous skips. I felt that was a more than decent compromise. He agreed. Begrudgingly, but he did agree.

I rolled off the bed, gathered comfy clothes, and headed for the shower. I needed to clear my head. There was so much to think about, and I didn't know where to start. My mother had dumped more than just my conception on my lap tonight. There was this marriage to Morelli, and more importantly Ranger. Yes, more importantly.

I turned on the water, tested it for warmth, and climbed in, immediately dipping my head under the spray. Once all the way wet, I lathered my hair with shampoo. Green tea and cucumber wafted through the heated air.

I wished I knew where Ranger was. Maybe if I knew I could be happy. That wasn't fair. I wasn't unhappy. There was just this missing piece that wouldn't let me be completely happy. Something that wouldn't let me get on with my happily ever after. I knew deep down it was Ranger. I just wasn't sure if it was that I didn't know where he was or if it was that I didn't know if he was coming back or if it was Ranger period. I still loved him. I figured I always would, maybe not as much as time went on, but some part of me would always love him. Was it that we never got a chance? Was it all the what ifs? I knew I'd always wonder if we could have been amazing together. I knew the physical side was untouchable. Ranger was magic, and we were beyond magic together. But I'd never known about the emotional side. Would we have worked? Could he have let me in enough for us to work? Would he have wanted to?

I let out a sigh and grabbed the bath scrubby, loading it up with Bulgari shower gel. It was my secret. It made me feel close to Ranger. Morelli didn't know why I loved it. He said he didn't care for it much, but I still used it. I think deep down he knew why I loved it, why I used it sometimes, and that was why he hated it. I didn't use it all the time, but when I really felt like I missed Ranger, I'd take a bath and let his essence swirl around me. And cry. I always cried when I used it.

Tonight was no different. The tears flowed down my cheeks unchecked, and I couldn't help but wonder if it was right that I ache this much for one man and live with another? Be engaged to another? I knew it wasn't fair to Morelli. I had to do something. Had to fix this mess I found myself in. But what could I do? I could call Ranger's cell, but what if he didn't want to talk to me? What if he was gone because of me? Because of my engagement? I didn't think that was a pain I could bear. I'd rather miss him every day for the rest of my life than have him turn me away. But I had to find out. I had to call him. If he wouldn't answer, then I'd have to take bigger steps. I had to talk to him, and I'd find a way to make it happen.

I shut the water off just as the temp dropped a few degrees and wrapped a towel around my body and hair. I slipped into my most comfortable cotton undies, sweats, a black T-shirt, and a hooded sweatshirt and let my hair down, figure combing as way of styling it.

Teeth brushed, lotion lathered, I left the bathroom and went into Morelli's bedroom. My cell phone was downstairs in my handbag, so I quietly crept down the stairs and grabbed it, and just as quietly went back upstairs. I took my phone out and hit speed dial two. It went right to voicemail.

"Leave a message," Ranger's voice commanded.

My heart jumped at hearing his voice. It'd been way too long. I took a calming breath.

"Hi," I said my voice cracking. "I really need to talk to you. Will you call me when you get this message? Please."

I hung up the phone and dropped back on the bed. I lay there for a second when I heard somebody come through the bedroom door.

"Who were you just talking to?" Morelli asked, leaning against the doorframe.

My only instinct was to lie. I didn't think telling him I'd called Ranger would go over well. He was ecstatic that Ranger had been in the wind since our engagement.

"Mary Lou," I said, feeling a little guilty. "I was calling to see if I could come over. I need to talk to her."

"What's going on?"

I let out a sigh, sat up, and laid out the entire conversation between my mother and me, leaving out her reasons for telling me. I didn't think Morelli's acid reflux could take it.

Morelli pushed off from the doorframe and plopped down onto the bed next to me. "Wow," he said, taking my hand. "That's big."

That was an understatement.

"At least she waited until after Christmas to tell you. That would've ruined what turned out to be a perfect Christmas," Morelli said. "First one and many more to follow."

I had no response. Yes, Christmas was good, but it wasn't perfect, and frankly I'd rather been told ten years ago.

"What are your plans?" he asked me. "You aren't planning on looking this guy up are you?"

"I'm going to visit with Mary Lou for a bit while you boys watch your game. Maybe catch up with Lula if she's not off with Tank," I said, getting off the bed.

"You sure? I can send the guys home and we can talk about this," Morelli offered.

I felt guilt climb through me. What kind of horrible person was I? I wasn't that I didn't want to talk to Morelli about everything. Well maybe a little part of me didn't see the point in talking to him. He wouldn't be open to finding the man my mom conceived me with. My sperm donor wasn't Burg, and that would look really bad if I looked the guy up. But the other part of me really just _needed_ and wanted to talk to Ranger. There was just something about talking to him that calmed me. Like he could fix anything. Well unless it was a food issue. Ranger sucked at food issues. He simply didn't understand the need for good food that was high in fat content.

"We'll talk later," I said, giving him a quick kiss before jumping off the bed, handbag swinging from my wrist. I jogged down the stairs, stuffed myself in my coat, and headed out the door.

I started the car up and paused for a moment, letting the car work on turning the frigid air coming out of the vents to warm. My cell phone was still in my hand as I looked down at it, willing it too ring, to let Ranger know how much I needed him. Nothing happened. I knew it wouldn't, but I still felt disappointed for some reason.

Taking a deep calming breath, I flipped my phone open and dialed Ranger's cell phone again. It went right to voice mail … again. I hung up and dialed his home number. The answering machine picked up after four rings. I left a brief message of, "Call me," and hung up. I dialed his pager and left my cell number as a call back. He'd either think I was desperate or hurt. It didn't matter to me what he thought, I just wanted him to call me back in the next two seconds.

Five minutes later I was still sitting in my car in Morelli's driveway. I didn't know what to do. If he was avoiding me, which didn't sound like Ranger at all, then I had to find a way to get him to talk to me. With that thought in my head I backed out of the driveway and turned my car to the direction of RangeMan.

I arrived fifteen minutes later and flashed my key fob at the gate, allowing me entrance to the underground parking. All of Ranger's cars were in their designated spots. A flash of anticipation shot through me. Was he back?

I pulled into an empty parking space and jumped out of my car. I'd only taken four steps when the elevator doors opened for Tank and Lester. We met in the middle of the parking garage.

"Hey there, beautiful," Lester said, slinging an arm around my shoulders. "How was your Christmas?"

"It was okay," I said, smiling at him.

"Just okay, huh."

I didn't respond and shifted my attention to Tank.

"You alright?" Tank asked me, watching me carefully.

"Yes," I said, and then let out a long sigh. "No. No I'm not."

"What's going on?" he asked.

Lester dropped his arms and looked at me, worry etched across his face.

"I need to talk to Ranger, Tank. Where can I find him?"

"He's in the wind, Steph."

Tank's face was blank, but I saw his eyebrows twitch slightly. Nothing for anybody that didn't know him. I knew he was contemplating calling at least four RangeMan to stand at my elbows in a matter of seconds.

"I'm not in danger, I just really need to talk to Ranger," I said, quickly. "Is there any way, Tank? Please."

He watched me for a moment, his eyes boring into mine. I didn't know what he was looking for, but in a matter of seconds he seemed to have come to a decision. He grabbed his cell from his hip and hit a number.

"When's the next flight to Miami?" he asked into the phone.

My stomach felt like it was freefalling. Miami? Had Ranger left because of me? I didn't want to show up on his doorstep if he'd left to get away from me. That wouldn't have a very pleasant ending.

"Book it for Steph," he said, ended the call, and immediately hit another number. "Go up to Ranger's apartment and pack everything that's up there that belongs to Steph. She's leaving for Miami in a few minutes. Bring it down to the garage."

My eyes must have given away my fear because Tank took two giant steps to me and braced his hands on both sides of my face. "I can tell how seriously you need to see him. Your flight leaves in less than two hours. If it's not as serious as I thought, tell me now."

I didn't say anything. Was it this serious? I knew I felt like it was this serious, but would he?

"Let me worry about Ranger, Steph?" Tank said, reading my thoughts.

"I need to see him," I whispered. "I just don't want him to be mad."

"He won't be mad," he said, equally soft. "Surprised, but not mad."

I nodded just as the elevator doors opened. Lester relieved Ella of the bag and met us at a RangeMan SUV. He opened the back door for me and handed me the bag before closing the door. And we were off. Tank driving and Lester riding shotgun. It all seemed to be happening so damn fast, but I couldn't help but smile. I'd be seeing Ranger in a few hours.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Not my characters and they may seem to be OOC at times. Takes place after LMT. Don't know how many spoilers there'll be. This fic was inspired by a drama that took place on my husband's side of the family. And well Stace said I needed to write it.

Thanks Stayce for editing.

Confessions

Chapter Two

Tank spent a majority of the trip on his cell phone. He'd arranged for a Miami RangeMan to pick me up at the airport, telling them my plane was scheduled to land at twelve-o-seven. I knew there was more to the conversations, but the side I could hear was limited to grunts and one word responses.

The one response that grabbed my attention was "good." What was good? Did it have to do with me? With Ranger? Did Ranger know I was coming?

My thoughts were cut off as Tank pulled up in front of the Continental Airlines entrance less than an hour later. I'd never traveled on the airlines before, but that was what happened when you wanted the next flight leaving. I opened the back door and climbed out of the SUV. My stomach was in nervous knots. I'd never done anything like this, and I was beyond tempted to hail a cab back to Trenton. The more I looked at the sliding doors leading into the airline, the more I was tempted to run away.

Lester's window slid down behind me. "Stop panicking, Steph and go see Ranger. He'll be happy to see you," Tank's deep voice said.

I turned and looked at him, praying he was right. "Thank you for doing this."

He gave a slight nod. "Your plane leaves in an hour and six minutes. There's not another flight out until six tomorrow morning, so hurry up," he said, dismissing me.

I let out the breath I'd been holding since I got out of the backseat and turned for the doors, looking back over my shoulder just in time to see the guys drive away before heading inside for the check in line.

Forty minutes later I was seated at the gate for flight 638 in terminal C, holding my first class ticket. I'd made it through security without getting pulled aside for a more thorough search, and I didn't even have to run to get to my gate in time. I was pretty sure it was some kind of record.

I put my ticket in my handbag and reached for my cell phone. No calls. I dropped it back in, just as it rang. My heart dropped to my feet, and my hands were shaking as I retrieved the phone. Morelli's number was printed across my screen. Silencing the call, I let out a sigh filled with disappointment. The disappointment was immediately followed by annoyance. Who was this pathetic person? I didn't need Ranger to call me. I didn't need anybody. Why was I so desperate then? Why was I in this freaking airport, sneaking away to see a man that hadn't bothered to tell me he was leaving in the first place? A man that hadn't bothered to call me in the past three months?

_Because you love him._ A little voice in my head said.

It was nerves, and I was letting it get to me. I was here because I wanted and _needed _to see Ranger. To talk to him. The fence sitting had to stop. If I thought saying yes to Morelli would end the teetering, I was dead wrong. I said yes because he asked first. That was the honest truth. If Ranger had tried to make a commitment with me I would have jumped at the chance. But in no way could I be sure I wouldn't be in the same damn mess I found myself in at the moment.

Then there was the issue with my sperm donor. I didn't know what I felt there. I wasn't sure if I even wanted to know who he was, but I knew for sure that Ranger was who I wanted to talk to about it. He was more level headed than Morelli. He saw outside the box. Or should I say outside the Burg. I didn't need Burg opinions in this matter. I knew Morelli loved me, but he was Burg. Ranger would think of me only. And I knew for a fact he was who I'd want to help me find the guy if I so desired.

Groaning, I flipped open my cell phone and dialed my mother's number.

"Hello," my mom said into the phone.

"Mom, I don't have much time, but I wanted to let you know I'm going out of town. I don't know when I'll be back. I just didn't want you to worry," I said.

She was silent for a bit, chewing on what to say to me.

"Thanks for calling. I hope you find whatever it is that you're looking for," she said.

"I'm going to see Ranger."

She let out a relieved sigh. "Good."

I wasn't sure what that meant, but I didn't have time to find out. They'd just called my row to board.

"I have to go mom. I'm getting on the plane now."

"Stephanie?"

"Yeah, mom," I said, stopping half way to the boarding gate.

"Be true to yourself." And she hung up.

My eyes instantly filled with tears as I brought the phone down from my ear. The airport was still fairly busy for being close to nine o'clock at night. People hustling to last calls, children yelling because they were tired, parent's short tempered responses because they too were tired, announcements over the loud speaker. But it all sounded like an echo in my head. My mom really did love me.

"Ms?" A woman's voice said, dragging me out of my thoughts. I looked up at her not remembering when I walked to the boarding gate. "Are you flying with us today?"

I nodded, handed her my boarding pass, and stepped through the gate for the plane. I turned my cell phone off and slipped it into my handbag before stepping onto the plane.

The plane landed just over three hours later. I disembarked with the rest of the first-class passengers and wandered around the Miami airport, following signs leading me to the exit.

I was standing next to baggage claim twenty minutes later, digging through my handbag for my cell phone. There was probably twenty or so voicemails on it by now, half from Morelli. I still didn't know what I was going to say to him, but I knew I had to call him back. He was probably worried about where I was. The worry would disappear upon finding out, though. I pulled my cell out and powered it on.

I looked around while waiting for it to power up, wondering if the RangerMan employee was meeting me inside or outside. There was no sign of a heavily muscled man dressed in all back. My cell phone chirped indicating a voicemail. I looked down and groaned. Twelve voicemails were waiting for me. Did I really want to deal with this now? I took a deep breath and held in the one button to call my voicemail. One of those messages could be from Ranger.

_Hey, Cupcake. The game is over and the guys just left. I was wondering when you'd be home. The boys miss you. I'll call over to Mary Lou's and talk to you. Love you._

I hadn't called Mary Lou to warn her that I was supposed to be going over there. Shit! The rest of the messages were going to be down hill. I deleted the call and my phone beeped indicating an incoming call. I checked the display screen, and saw Ranger's name across the screen. I hung up quickly from my voicemail and answered his call.

"Ranger?"

"Babe? Are you okay? I just got your message. And your page." His voice had an edge to it.

"I'm okay," I said, my shoulders relaxing for the first time in hours. "I'm glad you called."

"Steph?" Ranger said, hesitantly. "Where are you?"

"What?" I asked, wondering why he was asking.

"I must be more tired than I thought. I swear there's a woman standing twenty feet in front of me that looks exactly like you," Ranger said.

"Well unless you're in an airport, it can't be me," I said, hiking my carryon back on my shoulder.

"Airport." Ranger said.

I felt the tingle run down my spin half a second before an arm wrapped around my waist, spinning me around. A screech left my mouth, and then I was staring into chocolate brown eyes belonging to Ranger.

If he was tired, one couldn't tell by looking at him. He was dressed in head to toe black. Painted on black T-shirt, stretched across his muscled chest. Black cargos, slung low on his hips and ending at his black boots. All I wanted to do was kiss and lick every inch of his perfect body, and I had to physically stop myself from rubbing up against him like a cat in heat.

The corners of Ranger's mouth tipped up as he moved his hands up my arms to my face. He grabbed my cell phone and snapped it shut. "What are you doing in Miami, Babe?"

I didn't want to get into it in the middle of the airport, so I went with a flip answer. "Is that where I'm at?" I asked looking over my shoulder. "I've been standing here for twenty minutes trying to figure out where the hell I'm at. Miami's good. I've never been to Miami."

Ranger flashed me his 200-watt smile. "Smartass," he said, and brushed his lips over my forehead.

He didn't appear angry that I was here. Surprised and amused, but not angry. I leaned into him, snuggling my face into his chest, breathing in his scent. It wasn't Bulgari, but Ranger's scent alone made plain old Ivory soap smell sexy.

Ranger's hands weaved into my hair, pulling me tighter to him. His mouth was next to my ear, breathing hot air across my neck. Shock waves rushed down my body, leaving heat pooled in my belly.

"You smell like me," Ranger said, his lips smiling on my ear.

"I figured one of us should," I said, pulling back.

Ranger's eyes were soft as he looked at me. "No Bulgari where I've been," he said, leaving the conversation there. "Do you have any bags?"

"Just this," I said, showing him my carryon.

Ranger grabbed my hand, lacing our fingers together. "Let's go, and then we'll talk about why you're here."

I groaned and let him pull me out of the airport. It was in the low 70s and the humidity was high enough that I could feel my curls springing out of my ponytail. I stripped off my coat, but left my sweatshirt on. Ranger looked completely comfortable in his T-shirt.

Parked at the curb were two black SUVs. A man wearing a standard RangeMan uniform climbed out of the first SUV. He was in his late twenties and close to six feet tall. He looked like every RangeMan I'd ever met, not an ounce of fat anywhere on his muscled frame.

"Ranger, Ms. Plum," the man said, nodding his head at me.

Ranger didn't say anything as he took the keys from the guy, but his lips twitched. Tank was in for it. He was a big man, I'd let him handle it on his own. Yes, I was a chicken.

Ranger opened the passenger door for me, and as I was climbing in my cell phone rang in his hand. He glanced at it before holding it out to me.

"Morelli."

I stared at the phone for a second, but never reached for it. Ranger's lip twitched into an almost smile, and he shoved the phone into my hand as it finished ringing.

"Let me guess, Babe," he said, leaning into the door, "you didn't tell Morelli you were coming here."

I glared at him.

His grin grew. "Not a good way to start out a marriage."

"We're not married," I said, sharply.

"He wouldn't have understood," I whispered, pulling my seatbelt on.

The smile slipped from Ranger's face as he watched me. I looked up into his eyes, desperately trying to keep from crying. I didn't want to cry in front of Ranger. He leaned in brushing a kiss across my lips, tucked a loose curl behind my ear, and shut the door.

A Ranger pulled out in the departing traffic, I moved my eyes to him, watching the lights from the airport playing off his face. No earrings, hair cut short again, fine lines next to his eyes from the sun. His eyes remained on the road, but his hand left the wheel and grabbed a hold of mine, bringing it over to rest on his thigh. He placed his hand on top of mine, running his thumb over my ring before lacing our fingers together.

I pulled my eyes from Ranger's face and stared out the front windshield, watching cars weave in and out of traffic. It was too dark outside to see my new surroundings, so I closed my eyes, figuring I could take a short nap while we drove to wherever we were going. That much I had no idea about. Before Ranger appeared I figured I was staying at the RangeMan building. We were probably still headed to the RangeMan building. I didn't know where the batcave was in Trenton, so there wasn't much chance I'd find out if there was a Miami batcave.

I was slowly becoming aware somebody was talking to me, but I was too tired to try and figure it out. All I knew was I could smell something sexy somewhere near my face. I turned my head, breathing in the scent. Somewhere in the recesses of my mind I knew the sexy scent was Ranger, and I couldn't help but wonder if he tasted as good as he smelled. I turned my body, grabbing on to whatever was in my reach and pulled it to me. My tongue darted out and I felt it hit a smooth surface. I licked up the surface, moaning.

Then I felt like I was floating on a sexy smelling cloud. The cloud was talking to me. The only words I caught were, "lucky, sleep, consent." I was too tired to try and make my mind understand the words. I'd figure it out in the morning.

The next time I woke up I was tucked in next to a warm body. Ranger. His arm was wrapped around my middle, hand splayed on my stomach. My sweatshirt and shoes had been removed, but far as I could tell everything else was still on me. My hands were fisted by the pillow, holding onto the sheet. I ran my hand down the soft sheets, loving the feel of the high thread count under my palm. It ran down lower until it rested on top of Ranger's. His arm flexed and pulled me tighter to his body. If we were any closer, we'd be sharing the same clothes.

I drifted back to sleep listening to Ranger's even breathing.

"Babe," Ranger said in my ear.

"Mmmmm," I mumbled, pushing my butt closer to the warm body behind me.

There was a groan in my ear, and then a hot, wet tongue tracing a line up my neck. I moaned, arching my head to give the tongue more access. My hand reached around Ranger and grabbed a handful of the most delicious ass ever.

"Babe."

A warning tone.

"Ranger," I moaned, slipping my hand up the leg of his boxer shorts.

Next thing I knew I was on my back and Ranger was between my legs, his mouth hovering over mine. "You're playing with fire, Babe." And his mouth was on mine, kissing me hard, demanding I kiss him back.

The proof of Ranger's state was pressed into my inner thigh, enticing me to shift my hips just slightly to get him where I really wanted him. My hands moved down his back and cupped his ass in each hand, pulling him to me as my legs moved up, locking around his hips. Ranger's mouth tore from mine; his breathing labored as he ripped my T-shirt off and threw it aside. My bra was gone quicker than I could blink and his teeth pulled an aching nipple into his hot mouth.

"Oh God," I moaned, arching my back.

My hands slid around his hips to the front of his boxers. He was seriously hard. I slipped a hand inside, wrapping my fingers around his huge arousal and stroked him. He jerked and released my nipple, resting his forehead between my heaving breasts. His breathing was coming out in short gasps, and I could hear muttering in Spanish.

He let me continue stroking him for a minute before he grabbed both my hands and pinned them above my head. The ring on my left hand caught in my hair, sending me spiraling back to reality. I dropped my legs from around his hips, and tried to sit up. Ranger sensed my mood change instantly.

"I can't do this," I said, covering my face. "Oh my God. I'm so sorry, Ranger."

Good going Stephanie. Now you've done it, I thought. I'd managed to turn him on and deny him … again. He was sure to ship me off to some third world country for this.

Ranger sat back on his heels and ran his hands down his face. "I'm going to take a shower, Babe. Then we'll talk about why you're here," he said.

He pulled me up to him and lightly kissed me before getting off the bed. He handed me my T-shirt and left through a door on the right side of the room, closing the door behind him.

I blew out a breath, pulled the T-shirt over my head, and flopped back on the bed. What was I thinking fooling around with Ranger? I could still feel the low hum in my unsatisfied body. It was going to have to stay unsatisfied.

I sat up and looked around the room for my bag. I needed to check my voicemail.

The bedroom was larger than the one in Trenton. There were two doors to my right leaving the room and a sliding glass door to my left going out onto a balcony. I was lounging on a king sized bed in beige million thread count sheets and covered with a chocolate duvet. A beige club chair sat at my feet next to a table. Ranger's laptop was positioned on top of the table. Nice and just as impersonal as the Trenton apartment.

I climbed out of bed and looked at the alarm clock sitting on the bedside table. Nine-o-two. Ranger had slept in!

A huge walk in closet filled with work and casual clothes sat through the other door leaving the bedroom. I looked around the closet and spotted my carryon bag and handbag sitting on the bench seat. I sat down on the seat and pulled my cell phone out. Listening to angry voicemails wasn't what I wanted to spend my morning doing, but it needed to be done.

I could just delete all the messages.

That wouldn't be fair to Morelli. He deserved some kind of explanation as to why I took off without telling him.

I flipped open my phone to dial my voicemail just as Ranger walked through the door. A towel was wrapped low around his hips. His mocha skin glistened with moisture. I licked my suddenly dry lips as my eyes moved up his luscious body.

"Babe."

"Huh?" I said, my eyes glazing over.

"See something you like?"

I met his eyes and he flashed me his 200-watt smile before dropping the towel.

"Holy shit!" I said, my mouth dropping open. My eyes instantly went to his mouth-watering arousal.

"Nothing you haven't seen before, Babe," Ranger said, grabbing a pair of cargos.

"Well yeah, but," I said, still staring at his beautifully naked body.

He was holding the cargos in one hand and looking at me with amusement in his eyes. "But, what?"

"You can't just take off your towel in front of me."

Ranger grabbed me by the front of my shirt, pulling me to my feet. His lips were inches from mine. "Didn't you have your hand wrapped around my dick twenty minutes ago?"

I looked away from his eyes, feeling the blush burn my cheeks. "I said I was sorry about that," I said softly.

Ranger's hand brushed against my hot cheek, pulling my face back to look at him. Our eyes met again, but he face held no amusement this time.

"I'm not sorry," he said, seriously. "I won't pretend I don't want you. Not for anybody or anything. Especially that ring. So don't apologize for wanting me back"

I jabbed a finger into his chest. "That's not what I was apologizing for."

"Good to know." He kissed my lips softly and released my T-shirt. "Now get out of here and go take a shower before I make you forget all about your guilt issues."

"Sheesh," I muttered and grabbed my stuff on the way out of the closet.

Okay so I took one more look over my shoulder before completely leaving the closet.

The door Ranger had left through to take a shower led to a small hallway. There were three doors I could choose from. I figured the double doors on my left were to the rest of the apartment, so I went to the door in front of me. It was a closet. I grabbed two extremely soft beige towels and moved down the other short hall. I opened the door and walked into the bathroom.

"Wow!" I said out loud.

There was a huge sunken tub in a bayed window. Next to the tub was double sinks in a black marble countertop. The walk-in shower was on the left. I sat my towels on the bench next to the shower and opened the shower door. There were two shower heads on opposite sides of the stall.

I stripped out of my clothes and stepped into the shower, turning on both faucets. Now this was a shower! I lathered my hair with Ranger's shampoo, scrubbed my body with his shower gel, and got out before Ranger came looking for me.

The bag Ella packed for me held two each of black cargos, RangeMan shirts, sports bras, RangeMan undies, and socks. I took out one of each and threw them on, and left the bathroom.

The double doors were open this time when I got to them. I moved through the doorway and into the dinning room. The kitchen was directly in front of the dinning room. There was a wrap around bar, where Ranger was sitting reading the paper. The living room was to the left of the dinning room. The area was open and quite large. Larger than the Trenton apartment for sure. All three rooms were decorated in gray, black, and wine. The flooring was a beautiful hardwood.

"Come have some breakfast, Babe," Ranger said.

I moved through the dinning room and sat next to him at the bar. He looked at me and grinned.

"Ella pack your bag?"

I didn't respond as I reached for a bagel and the cream cheese. Ranger poured me a cup of coffee, added milk, and passed it to me. I took a sip and felt the caffeine shoot straight to my head.

"Tank booked your flight," Ranger said.

"Yes."

"Why?" he asked, looking at me.

I blew out a sigh. Truth time!

"I went to RangeMan after I left you the message. I needed to see you asked if there was a way."

I could feel Ranger's eyes on me as I sipped my coffee. His hand crept over and turned my head, making our eyes meet.

"Why did you _need _to see me?" he asked, keeping our eyes locked.

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. Why could I rationalize it all in my head, but when it came to saying it all to Ranger I froze up? I knew Ranger would wait me out. His patience far exceeded mine.

Ranger's cell phone rang, breaking the silence between us. He gave my jaw a gentle squeeze and let go to answer his phone.

"Yo."

He paused for a second, listening. "You get thirty minutes," he said and then hung up.

I picked up my coffee, thankful that I'd have a bit of alone time to get my thoughts together.

"I need to go downstairs for a bit. I'll be back shortly, and we will continue this," he said.

I looked at him and nodded.

He gave me a light kiss and left the apartment.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Not my characters and they may seem to be OOC at times. Takes place after LMT. Don't know how many spoilers there'll be. This fic was inspired by a drama that took place on my husband's side of the family. And well Stace said I needed to write it.

Thanks to Linds for editing

Confessions

Chapter Three

Once Ranger had left the apartment, I knew it was time to leave the land of denial and listen to my voicemail. Nothing about the task was appetizing. I knew my phone would be filled with shocked and angry messages. Questions of why I'd taken off in the middle of the night. I wasn't sure I had the answers. Or maybe I just wasn't prepared to answer the questions. I was positive for sanity purposes the answers would have to be tailored for each person. Need to know basis.

I blew out a sigh, pushed away from the breakfast bar, and went to get my phone from the bathroom. I'd purposely left it there. I figured if somebody called I wouldn't hear it through all the doors. Yes I was a chicken!

As I was walking back through to the living room my phone rang. I hesitantly looked at the display screen. I didn't want to talk to anybody before I'd listened to my voicemail. No way was I walking into a conversation blind.

It was Vinnie. I blinked a few times, trying to process that his name was flashing at me. What the hell did he want?

"Yeah?" I said, answering the call.

"Is it true you're in Miami?" he shouted into my ear.

I was instantly irritated. Who the hell did the greasy little ferret think he was?

"What of it?" I snapped.

"What of it? Are you freaking crazy? What the hell am I supposed to do with all these files? I'm bleeding money. Get your ass back here!" And he hung up.

I pulled the phone from my ear. "You cheap, sleazy, worthless, maggot infested, prick," I screeched, flipped him the bird, and slammed my phone shut.

Throwing myself down on the charcoal gray sectional, I was instantly calmed by the comfort surrounding me. This was the couch above all other couches. I briefly wondered if Ranger approved the furniture before it found its way into the apartment. The man was always in control of his life. I had a hard time believing he wasn't in control of his furniture selection. Then again I doubted if he even cared. This wasn't home after all.

But it still amazed me that his apartments resembled him. The furnishing was masculine and powerful. Each piece felt like it belonged with the next. Nothing about the room was thrown together. Sophisticated!

I shook my head. Okay enough distraction. I needed to deal with my voicemail. If I didn't, get to it soon, the calls were going to start all over again. Then my day would seriously be fucked.

Begrudgingly, I flipped open my cell.

"_Steph, Joe just called over here wondering if he could talk to you. I froze up for a second, but then I told him you'd already left. I think he bought it since he didn't sound funny. I'm not sure what's going on, but I'm demanding a call back."_

I owed Mary Lou big time. It wasn't like it was the first time I'd taken off in the middle of the night, but it was the first time I'd left the state without a word. And I was only skipping phone calls because I tended to avoid anything that meant I might have to have a real conversation. I wasn't good at that type of thing.

"_White girl, what the hell is going on? Your hot cop fiancé just called me asking if I'd seen you tonight. Now Lula asks you, why would he be making such a phone call? Why doesn't he know where you are this evening? I of course told him a big fib about being busy and that we were meeting up in an hour for some drinks. So your skinny ass best be calling me to tell me why I needed to lie to officer hottie."_

I'd expected him to call Lula. I knew she'd come up with a lie as well, but I still felt bad.

An eye twitch immediately started upon hearing my mother's voice, though. When the eye twitch started I was usually able to forget how bad I was feeling.

"_Stephanie, this is your mother. When you called me I thought that you'd told Joe that you were headed out of town. He just called here looking for you. I told him that you stepped out to take your grandmother to the store. And my lie would have worked too if it wasn't for your grandmother coming into the kitchen asking who was on the phone. He wasn't happy, Stephanie. Not happy at all. And I don't blame him, either. What were you thinking sneaking off in the middle of the night without so much as telling him you were leaving? You call me the second you get this message." _

And so it begins, I thought. The rest of the messages would be downhill. Morelli knew something was up, and it wouldn't take him long to figure out exactly who I was with. Who would give way to where. It was about to get really ugly.

"_Steph, I don't know what's going on, but you need to call me. I'm beginning to think that everybody knows something I don't. You're mom just lied to me about you being over there. Why would she do that? And why is your phone off"_

The 'Jaws' tune was now playing in my head.

"_Oh girlfriend, you need to call me. I just talked to my man. I know you are on your way to see Ranger. What is going on? Did you leave Morelli? He's gonna be shittin' bricks when he finds out you snuck out on him and flew to Miami. Call me!"_

I put my finger to my eye to stop the twitching. Now not only did I sneak off, I was leaving Morelli, too. That would only take minutes to work through the Burg. I now understood the call from Vinnie. He knew I was in Miami because Lula told Connie.

"_Stephanie Plum, this is your mother calling. Joseph just left here and I told him the truth. Something you seemed to have forgotten how to do." _Well now isn't that the pot calling the kettle black, I thought, rolling my eyes. "_He was worried sick when he got here, demanding to know what was going on. I told him you called me from the airport shortly before nine. Now I didn't tell him who you were going to see. That's something you need to tell him. You didn't tell me where you were going, so that much I couldn't tell him. But I'd like to know exactly where you are. You call me the second that plane lands."_

I deleted the message and let out a sigh, my head flopping back on the couch. I'd done a lot of impulsive and stupid things in my life, but I'd have to say boarding a plane to Miami in the middle of the night without telling Morelli pretty much took the cake. What did I think I'd accomplish by flying to Ranger? Did I think he'd take one look at me and the rest would be history? That was laughable. Ranger didn't do relationships. Did I think he'd find a way to fix all my issues? Was I actually looking for somebody else to solve them for me since I couldn't seem to decide?

Morelli's angry voice interrupted my thoughts.

"You're on a plane? What the hell is going on? Where are you going and why didn't you tell me? I swear Stephanie if you're going to …"

He hung up before finishing his threat. Or was it a promise? An ultimatum? I'd have to figure that out later. Not that having an ultimatum thrown in my face was going to score him any points. It didn't matter that what I did was completely uncalled for. The second an ultimatum was thrown at me I saw red.

"Steph, this is Tank. Morelli just left. He called earlier. Hal told him I was busy. He was questioning where you were. He was told we were unaware of your current position. He showed up twenty minutes ago at the garage gate. Saw you car, and stood at the gate shouting until I came down. He did a lot of yelling and arm flapping. Tossed out a few threats and tore away from the building. Thought I'd warn you."

Shit, fuck, damn! Tank probably stood there staring at him without saying a single word. The Merry Men could make a person with mountains of patience break. Joe's patience level when dealing with the Merry Men in the best of situations was like a ten year old. And this was not the best of situations.

I already knew who the next caller would be as I deleted the message from Tank.

Heavy breathing. I'd be worried about a stalker, if I didn't know it was Morelli practicing anger management.

"Your car is at RangeMan, Cupcake, and you're on a plane. That tells me who, and I can take a guess at where. What I don't know is why."

No yelling. No ultimatums. Fairly civilized. Hurt. The tone was definitely hurt. I didn't give thought to what getting on that plane was going to do to Morelli emotionally. I never meant to hurt him. That was the last thing I wanted to do. And maybe that was why I was sitting on Ranger's couch in Miami. At the end of the day I didn't want to hurt either man in my life.

I slumped down further on the couch as I listened to Mary Lou again questioning why I hadn't called her back. She also had to ask if I'd really left Morelli for Ranger. Back to the eye twitch.

The next call was from Morelli. He was silent for a moment before he spoke. He sounded hurt and confused.

"Steph I really hope you're prepared to explain all of this to me. I'm not going to just ignore that you snuck out tonight and boarded a plane. Was anything you told me tonight the truth? Did your mom really have an affair? Or was that just an excuse to get out of the house?"

I deleted the call with a sigh and waited for Morelli's voice to come back on the phone from when he called after I got to Miami.

"I guess you landed."

I deleted the message and snapped my phone shut. Today was going to be hell. There was no doubt in my mind. It was going to be one emotional talk after the next. I should've just stayed in bed. I needed to talk to my mom and Morelli, and Ranger was due back any minute. If one of them would just run me over with a steam roller it'd be less painful.

With my teeth gritted, I flipped my phone back open. Who to call first? Mom would make my eye twitch more than ever, but I wasn't sure if I was ready for Morelli. Maybe Mary Lou or Lula would be an easier way to start out. And now I just needed feathers to complete my look.

My finger was on the five to speed dial Lula's cell when mine rang. Morelli. I couldn't ignore him any longer.

"Hi," I said, softly.

"Where are you," he asked, his voice low with a hint of anger.

"Miami."

"Ranger?"

"Yes." There was no point in lying. He already knew.

"Why?"

"It's hard to explain."

Was it hard? Or was it that I didn't want to explain? I didn't want Morelli to know about my relationship with Ranger. It was difficult enough for me to try to understand, never mind trying to explain it to Morelli.

"Try." His voice had taken on a hard edge. He wasn't in the mood for excuses. "And I don't want it half-assed either, Stephanie."

I took a deep breath, not particularly caring what he wanted at the moment. It wasn't something I wanted to discuss with him.

"I don't think it really matters. There isn't a way for me to explain it that you'd understand. And I don't expect you to understand. It's my issue," I told him. I just wanted to get off the phone.

"At this point, Steph, I've been up most of the night. Worried sick about if you're where I think you are. If you're okay. So basically I'd like the explanation whether I'll understand or not," he said. "Don't you think you owe me that much?"

He was right. He did deserve it. I just didn't want to give it. It didn't help that what I had to say wasn't going to make him feel better. It was a disaster in the making. There was no way around it, though. It had to be said.

"Fine, you deserve it, but you should know that you're not going to like it."

"I don't like a lot of things right now," he said, harshly. "I'm waiting."

"When I told you I loved you for the first time on the way to the hospital to see Ranger, what I didn't tell you was that I also loved him. Ranger that is. It was something I needed to figure out. Something I'd been trying to figure out. At that moment, the only thing I knew for sure was that I loved you both," I told him.

"You love him, too," Morelli repeated. "What does that mean?"

"It means that I'm in love with two very different men."

I heard a sharp intake of air. "Are? As in present tense?" he spat out. "Not were?"

"Yes, Joe, present tense."

"How do you expect me to respond to that? You're telling me that the woman I proposed to three months ago is in love with another man, too?"

"I told you that you weren't going to like what I said."

"Damn right I don't like what you said!" he shouted. "How long have you known this?"

"I don't know. A while," I admitted, sinking lower on the couch.

He was waiting me out. Expecting more. I figured I'd given enough.

"How long, Stephanie? Weeks, months, years?"

"After the Slayer incident, I distanced myself from both of you because I knew I needed to get it figured out. I had to choose. I just didn't know how."

How could I tell him that I still didn't know how? How could I tell him that I didn't want to lose Ranger from my life? How was it possible to choose when the risk was hurting a man you loved? But that was what I did anyway. I knew that now. I chose as far as everybody knew, possibly hurting Ranger. But my heart never made a choice. Now it was Morelli hurting.

"If there was really this intense choice problem, didn't you make it the day you accepted my proposal?"

I closed my eyes thinking back to the day. To how I felt. Morelli and I had been on for the longest stretch of our relationship. We still lived separately, but we were together every night our schedules allowed. We were seen as a couple, but I never really felt it. My idea of a couple involved a real commitment. We'd always had problems in that area. He wanted me to do things his way, and I refused to give in. That didn't make for a real couple in my eyes. I was waiting for him to want me just the way I was. And to love me for just the way that I was. And I still didn't know if that day was ever going to come.

"You asked first," I said without really thinking about it.

"I …" Morelli stuttered. "Jesus you can't be serious? I asked first? What the fuck does that mean?"

"I'm sorry. It just came out. I shouldn't have said that. I … you …" I rambled, trying to make up for letting my mouth talk without consulting my brain first.

"This is all great, Cupcake, but that didn't answer why you're in Miami with Ranger," Morelli said, angrily. "Did you figure you could hop a plane, run to him, and fuck him to see if it was all it's cracked up to be? Would that help make your choice for you?"

There was no point in telling him I knew what Ranger was like in bed. He didn't need to know that Ranger was magic. I'd only needed one night to know that it was in deed all it was cracked up to be. And sex with Ranger wasn't what I needed to get off my fence sitting. I wasn't in Miami for sex.

"No," I snapped. "That's not what I was thinking. I wasn't thinking. I just … I knew what I needed and I did what had to be done."

"What you needed? Ranger is what you needed?"

"I needed to talk to him," I said, leaving it at that.

"Why?" he repeated the same question Ranger asked me earlier.

Truthfully I didn't feel like Morelli needed to know all the reasons. I'd told him enough. The rest would only make matters worse. I'd give him one reason and he'd have to deal with it.

"He's the first person I thought of that could help me," I said.

"Help you with what," Morelli demanded. "And please don't tell me it's so you can look up this one night stand."

"Fine I won't. And you clearly didn't hear a word I told you last night," I shouted, standing up. "And you wonder why I chose Ranger? You were more worried about your fucking game and your sloppy ass friends than listening to my huge life altering situation."

"What is so God damn life altering about it? So your mom had an affair. Big fucking deal, Stephanie. It happens ever day. Get over it. He's not your dad, he just donated the sperm to make you," Morelli shouted back. "And if you remember correctly I offered to send the guys home so we could talk. You're the one that refused to talk to me about it.

Okay so he was right. I hadn't wanted to talk to him about it. I knew he wouldn't be open to looking for the guy. The choice was mine, and he should support me in the decision. The fact that he saw the guy as only donating the sperm to make me disgusted me. We didn't know anything about him. He probably didn't even know about me. He was cheated from even knowing I existed. Morelli talked about everything he deserved; well I deserved to have some answers, too.

"I was sitting here feeling really guilty that I hopped a plane in the middle of the night, but you know what, not any more," I said, quietly.

I could feel the tears burning in my eyes. My hands were shaking. Hell my entire body was shaking. I swallowed the hard lump in my throat and tried to get my lip to stop quivering. I didn't want him to know how badly he just hurt me.

"Now, I know I was right for thinking you wouldn't support me in my decisions. It's not your choice. Don't you get that? Yes last night you offered to send all the guys home but the damage was already done. I didn't want to come home to that, and you didn't care enough about my feelings to even let me know you were having all the guys over to watch a game. I live there too, Morelli. Can't you see that we still have commitment issues? Getting engaged and moving in together didn't change that. I don't think it's possible." I snapped my phone shut.

I should want to throw it across the room. But, I was numb. I'd felt numb for months. That wasn't the way it was supposed to be, right? I shouldn't feel like that when I was engaged to Joe Morelli. The man everybody thought I was destined for. Why was this numb feeling starting to feel normal? What started it?

"Babe."

I screamed and jumped about a foot before turning to look at Ranger. He was standing two feet behind the couch, fists clenched at his sides. I had a gut feeling that he'd been standing there for a while. I should have realized that getting distracted wasn't a good thing. It messes with my Ranger radar. Normally I sensed him. Damn Morelli and getting me all worked up. Talk about killing two birds with one stone.

"I guess I should be more aware of my surroundings," I said.

Ranger hadn't moved. His eyes were dilated black and staring at me with an intensity I'd never seen before.

"For the first time ever, I'm glad you were unaware of your surroundings," he said, eyes unwavering, fists still clenched.

"How long have you been standing there?"

"It's hard to explain."

My eyes widened and my knees felt like they were going to give out on me at any moment. He'd heard everything. Everything!

He closed the gap between us in three steps. We were standing toe to toe, but nothing was touching. Ranger looked like he was trying to control himself. His jaw was twitching and his blank face was slipping. And suddenly I realized when the numbness started. Ranger was why I was numb.

"What's the other reason you're here that you wouldn't tell Morelli?" he asked, his voice rough.

I'd never really heard Ranger sound emotional. Mostly I watched him go deep inside himself. Words were rarely uttered, and never with emotions clearly on his voice. And as shocked as I was to have him barely holding onto his control, I wasn't going to just blurt out all my secrets.

"What do you mean?" I asked, trying to sound confused and innocent.

If I thought Ranger's jaw was tight before, I was dead wrong. He was going to break teeth here soon.

"You can't lie to me, Stephanie. I know you. I can hear a lie in your voice. See it in your eyes. So I'm going to ask you again. What wouldn't you tell Morelli?"


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Not my characters and they may seem to be OOC at times. Takes place after LMT. Don't know how many spoilers there'll be. This fic was inspired by a drama that took place on my husband's side of the family. And well Stace said I needed to write it.

Thanks to Stayce for editing

Confessions

Chapter Four

I've never understood how Ranger could always tell when I was lying. It just wasn't normal. Granted he wasn't a normal guy, but nobody else could tell when I was lying. Not even my mother and she carried me for nine months, and then raised me for eighteen years. Probably it could be argued that she was still trying to raise me at the age of thirty. But the fact of the matter was she never knew when I lied right to her face let alone over the phone.

Hell! Morelli never even knew when I was lying. Well, maybe he could when I was staring him in the eyes, but certainly not over the phone.

There had to be something that gave me away that Ranger caught. Did I stumble over my words? Did I pronounce my words differently? I could understand when I was looking at him or in this case when he was standing right behind me the entire time, but that didn't explain when he couldn't see me.

I looked back up at Ranger and I could tell he wasn't in the mood for my stalling. I just didn't know what to say to him. He'd already heard all my confessions.

I let out a sigh and took a step back. He grabbed my arm lightening fast and pulled me back to him. The grip was firm, but not painful. He was letting me know that I wasn't to move, and unless he wanted me to I wouldn't be moving. It irked me. I just needed some space.

"Are you angry with me because of what you heard?" I asked.

"Angry about the way I heard it," he said, releasing the grip on my arm and rubbing the spot softly, apologizing for the force. "I'm not angry with you."

"Nobody asked you to listen," I said, narrowing my eyes.

"I never intended to listen," Ranger said and scrubbed his hands down his face. "Jesus, Babe. I heard you on the phone and headed to the bedroom, but then you said you loved me too, and I couldn't walk away."

And my annoyance evaporated just like that. I wanted to reach out and touch him. To feel his heart and see if it was pounding in his chest just as much as mine was. I wanted to close my eyes and have him wrap me in his arms.

Ranger's hand came to my face and he traced a line down my cheek. "By the end of the conversation I realized you may need my help, but that wasn't the only thing that brought you here. Whatever you need help with wasn't the reason for the look in your eyes when Tank arranged for your flight here. That look and whatever feelings go along with it was what you wouldn't tell Morelli. What is it, Babe?"

I leaned into his touch just as a tear slid down my cheek. As much as I tried to keep them in, the other eye betrayed me too, spilling tears. I gave in after a second to the gut wrenching pain in my heart and sobbed. My entire body shaking with hurt and uncertainty and loneliness. Ranger pulled me into his arms, tucking me under his chin as I sobbed, my tears soaking his shirt.

Through my sobs I could hear Ranger muttering Spanish in my ear, and after a few minutes it was starting to calm me. My grip on his T-shirt was relaxing and the tears were slowing. I took a few calming breaths and pulled away from Ranger's chest. He'd moved us to the couch with me curled up in his lap.

"Babe." His eyes held concern as he gently wiped the remaining tears from my cheeks.

"Why'd you leave?" I asked, tears slipping from my eyes again.

He looked momentarily confused, but it was quickly replaced with wide shocked eyes.

"Shit," he said. "Are you telling me you never knew why I was gone?"

Not wanting to say something stupid, I just shook my head.

"You never asked? Never called? Not once?" Ranger questioned me, raising an eyebrow.

I dropped my eyes as more tears flowed out. "I tried," I whispered. "Almost every day for three months, I tried to call." I looked back up at him, tears running down both cheeks. "I always ended the call before I made it."

"Nothing would make me walk away from you, Babe, not even this," he said, lifting my left hand between us.

My engagement ring flashed at me making my heart hurt even more. Was I still engaged? I didn't feel like I was. It wasn't fair to Morelli that I even said yes. I couldn't possibly walk down the aisle and vow to love only him for the rest of my life. I was still very much in love with Ranger.

"I got a call the day before you told me about your engagement. When you came to my apartment I was going to tell you I had to leave the next day and that I didn't know when I'd be back. You told me you accepted Morelli's proposal and you left before I had a chance to tell you. I left orders to let you know if you asked."

"I never would've asked Tank. I would've felt stupid asking him where you were when I was engaged to Morelli," I said, climbing off Ranger's lap. I immediately regretted it. I felt at peace on his lap, but I couldn't very well climb back on his lap after getting off.

"Poor communication," Ranger said, grabbing my feet and dragging them into his lap. "I should've let you know before leaving."

"Wasn't your fault," I said, leaning my head back against the couch as Ranger rubbed my sock clad feet.

"I should've sucked it up and called Tank instead of always trying to call your cell," I said, a moan slipping from me as Ranger kneaded the arch of my foot.

"You would've gotten my voicemail."

"I know. That's why I'm glad I never made the call," I said, sighing. "I tried to convince myself that my engagement and your leaving was a coincidence, but the thought that it maybe wasn't never left my head. I was so afraid that I'd call you and you either wouldn't answer my calls or you would answer and you'd tell me you didn't want to be a part of my life anymore. If I'd have called and never heard back from you, I would've given up on you by now." A tear slipped from my eye again.

Next thing I knew, Ranger dragged me into his lap and his hands were fisted in my hair, pulling my mouth millimeters from his.

"Never give up on me."

My breath caught in my throat and tears streamed down my cheeks. "I can't. I love you too much," I whispered.

Ranger pulled my mouth to his in a bruising kiss. His tongue plunged between my parted lips, sweeping and swirling inside my mouth, pulling a moan from deep inside me. The kiss was all-consuming, stealing the air from my lungs, and I held nothing back as I returned the fierce kiss.

When it ended, I was straddling Ranger's lap and my hands were fisted in his shirt, holding him to me. My breathing was coming out in punctured gasps, and my heart felt like it was going to leap from my chest.

Ranger released the grip on my hair and smoothed it back from my face. "I love you, too."

I waited for a moment, holding my breath for the qualifiers that always followed. Instead Ranger leaned forward and kissed my mouth softly at the corner. He repeated the action on the other side, and then he brushed his lips over my forehead. My eyes slid shut and I felt his lips on my eyes, my nose, my cheeks, across my jaw, and back to my trembling lips in a feathery touch.

"I love you," he said again, his warm mouth against mine before kissing me slowly, lingering just long enough to leave me breathless.

I knew before the kiss ended just what I had to do. The torturous triangle had to stop.

"I need to end things with Morelli," I said softly after Ranger pulled back.

"Are you sure?" he asked, running a thumb over my bottom lip.

"You don't want me to?"

"This isn't about what I want. This is about you, Babe. About your happiness. If Morelli is what you need. What you want. Then you need to make it work. I want you to be happy."

I leaned forward and pressed my lips to his, kissing him gently.

"I love him, but I know in my heart and in my head that I don't love him enough to make a forever with him. I wouldn't be happy. Not like I should be. And that's not fair to him or me. We both deserve better than that," I explained.

"Yes," Ranger said.

"And there's you."

"What about me, Babe?"

"I love you more," I said, looking down while I shifted in his lap.

Ranger's finger came under my chin and lifted my face until our eyes met. "We'll never be normal," he said, caressing my jaw. "Can you deal with that?"

I nodded my head, slowly. "I've never wanted normal. I tried normal. It sucked."

"I'll still work crazy hours. I won't always be able to tell you where I'm going. I might be gone for months at a time," he said. "But I'll get you a secure phone, so you won't have to depend on anybody for answers. And when I'm home, I'll be with you."

"Thank you," I said, sliding my hands up this chest to his face. "I'd like to have a secure phone."

More tears streamed down my cheeks. He was giving me something important. He didn't have to get me a secure phone. He could leave things the way they were, but he was bringing me closer to him, letting me into his life.

"I'll keep GPS on me at all times. You can add one to my car as well if that'll make you feel better. And I'll come to you first if something out of the ordinary is happening." He smirked. "Okay fine if I feel like I'm in danger," I revised, smacking him in the chest. But I was smiling. Really smiling. This felt good. Better than good.

"I'd like it if you'd come back to RangeMan part time," he said, grabbing my hands and wrapping them behind my back.

"Done. I could use a steady income," I said, leaning into him.

"How about a RangeMan issued vehicle?" he asked, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

"I don't know," I said. "I'd feel bad if I blew up another one of your cars."

"I don't care about the car. I care about you. I like you to be in a reliable car."

"Okay, but if I blow it up, I'm not taking another one," I said.

A grin spread across his lips. "We'll see," he said. "Is there anything you want?"

I thought about it for a moment. I didn't want to change him. Just like he didn't want to change me. I was glad we were getting this all out in the open right from the beginning.

"I'd like if you'd let me get to know you more," I said, knowing that was really the only thing I wanted.

"I can do that to an extent."

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"There are things about me, about my past, that I don't want to relive. Maybe some day I might tell you, but as of right now, I can't," he said, watching me. "There are also things that I officially can't tell you, but I'll let you know if it's an official thing or just something I don't want to talk about."

"I can deal with that," I said.

"Good. Is there anything else?"

"What about training?"

"What about it?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Is that something you want me to do?"

"I'd love for you to get some defense training, but I'd never ask you to do something that you didn't want to do. I love you for who you are, not who I can turn you into."

I smiled and kissed him hard on the mouth. "I think I should look into some self defense classes. I took a few when I first started bounty hunting, but I kind of quit after the second one," I said. "But if I do decide to take some classes are you still going to bug me to go running with you?"

Ranger burst out laughing. His head was thrown back, his mouth open, and I briefly considered taking up running. I did say briefly!

He looked at me, laughter still dancing in his eyes. "Every chance I get, Babe."

Great!

The laughter died as he laced his fingers with mine. He brought my hands back around between us, flicking the ring on my left hand.

"What are you going to do about this?" he asked.

I groaned. This was something I wasn't looking forward to. I didn't want to hurt Morelli, but I couldn't put off ending things. That would just make matters worse.

"I guess I better call him," I said.

"Are you a hundred percent sure about this?" he asked.

It was a valid question, and I was quick to answer. "Yes."

"I'm gonna make a few phone calls." He gave me a soft kiss, lifted me off his lap, and left the room.

It was just me and my cell phone. I flipped it open and dialed Morelli's home number. I didn't have any doubts about ending the engagement, but I still didn't want to do it. I really, really didn't want to hurt him.

_You already have_, a little voice in my head said.

"Hello," Morelli said.

I was talking to the cop. I could tell by the tone of his voice. He was in lock down. Not giving me the slightest indication of what he was feeling.

I opened my mouth, but I didn't have a clue what I was going to say. How do you tell the man you've been with for years that it was finally over?

"You don't have to say anything, Steph," Morelli said. "I already know why you're calling, so save your breath."

"I am sorry, Joe," I said.

"You're just going to throw away the last three years?"

"I'll treasure every moment we've had together, but I can't keep going forward, pretending that everything is just how I want it. And that's what I'd be doing. Pretending. Because in the back of my head I'd always wonder 'what if?' You deserve better than that, Joe. That would hurt more when it ended than now. It would end. One of us would get tired of all the pretending," I told him. "You're a good man, Joe, and I love you very much, but you deserve more in life. You deserve to have everything you want. I'm not a part of that equation. You may disagree now, but in time you'll realize I was never on the same life path as you."

"And you and Manoso's life path is on the same course?" he asked, harshly.

I wasn't going to have this conversation. He had his feelings about Ranger and nothing I said was going to change that. There was no point in arguing with him.

"I never wanted to hurt you, Joe. I know that doesn't fix that I have, but this conversation isn't going to make things better."

"He's not right for you, Steph. He's beyond insane. He leads around a pack of …"

"Stop!" I said, firmly. "Nothing you say is going to change my feelings for him. I already know you don't like him. I already know you don't like his men. I don't need to hear how you feel all over again. You've been saying the same thing for years now. It hasn't kept me from involving him in my life. It hasn't kept me from loving him. It's not going to start working now."

"Don't expect me to pick up the pieces," he said, seriously.

"There won't be any pieces to pick up," I snapped. "If we don't work, I'll at least know we tried. My life won't be filled with thoughts of what could have been. I don't expect you to understand, and I don't expect you to wish the best for me. I'm doing this because I want what's best for _you_. I'm not that."

"Right," he said and hung up.

I closed my phone, let out a long sigh, and dropped my head back on the couch. I knew we'd never be friends, but I did hope that one day we'd be able to have a conversation that wasn't strained. A friendship would be nice, but I wasn't going to kid myself. There was too much hurt to get past for a real friendship to work.

Ranger quietly came back into the room, sat down beside me, and pulled me to his side. I knew the tears would come at some point, so when they worked their way out of my eyes and down my cheeks I wasn't surprised and I didn't try to hold them back. I did love Morelli and it hurt to end what we had. It might not have always been that great, but there were many unforgettable moments. I'd treasure them always just like I told him I would.

"You okay, Babe?" Ranger asked, rubbing my arm.

"Yeah. It hurts, but I'm okay."

We sat in silence for a moment and I remembered Ranger mentioning a 'look' I had in my eyes when I talked to Tank. I should've realized he'd already talked to Tank, but I was still curious. I wasn't aware I had a look in my eyes. That explained why I was put on a plane so quickly.

"When did you talk to Tank?" I asked.

"This morning."

"Are you shipping him to any third world countries?"

I felt more than heard Ranger chuckle. "No."

"Good cause I'd feel really bad. I wasn't expecting to be put on a plane. I just asked if there was a way to talk to you," I said.

"Like I said, Babe, you were on that plane because of the look in your eyes," Ranger said, softly.

"I wasn't aware of a look."

"You're easy to read. Your emotions and thoughts are an open book. Tank wasn't sure what was going on, but he knew you needed to see me. I'd have been home in a week, but he didn't think you could wait that long," he told me.

I probably could've, but I wouldn't have wanted to.

"What did you need my help with?" Ranger asked after a moment.

"What?" I asked, tilting my head up to him.

"The other reason you're in Miami."

"Oh crap. With everything that happened today, I'd completely forgot about how this all started to begin with."

I shifted sideways on the couch so I was sitting cross-legged facing Ranger and quickly dried my tears. "Last night my mom called me over to the house saying she had something she wanted to tell me. I get there and she tells me that after my sister was born she had an affair. It didn't last long, but after it was all said and done, she found out she was pregnant with me," I told Ranger.

He was quiet for a few minutes absorbing the new information, and watching me. I didn't know what he was searching for, but his eyes were certainly assessing.

"You think this man she had an affair with is your real father?"

"That's what she said."

"She's positive about that?"

"I asked if she ever found out for sure and she told me there was no reason to," I said, wondering what he was thinking.

"Why?" he asked.

"I don't understand."

"Was there no reason because she knew for sure, or because he was no longer in the picture?"

"Oh," I said, my mouth dropping open slightly. I hadn't thought about that. "I get what you're saying. I guess I was in too much shock to really find out more details."

"Understandable, Babe."

"Why didn't I ask more questions?" I questioned more to myself than Ranger.

"Steph, don't be so hard on yourself. There was no way you could have been prepared for that," Ranger said, cupping my cheek. "Tell me what you want to do."

"I don't know. I'm not sure what's right," I said, honestly.

"Right for who?" he asked.

I smiled. I knew Ranger was the person I wanted to talk with. He didn't care about anybody else involved in the issue. It was about me. What I wanted. What I needed. He didn't give a shit about how it would look.

"I don't even know what's right for me. I'm still trying to get my head around my mom having an affair. Never mind that there might be a man wandering around somewhere that shares my DNA."

"What does this information change for you?" Ranger asked.

"I don't know, Ranger."

I squeezed my eyes shut, and ran my hands over my face. I was mentally exhausted. And I still didn't have a clue how I felt about my mom's confession. I'd already lost one man in my life today. I didn't want to do anything that would hurt my relationship with my dad. Frank Plum was my dad. He raised me and loved me. Even if he wasn't my biological father, he was and would always be my dad.

"Do you think your dad would be upset if you wanted to find out who this other man is?" Ranger asked, reading my mind as usual.

"I don't think so, but I really don't want to hurt his feelings. He's my dad," I said.

"And he always will be, Babe. No matter what."

I nodded and gave Ranger a small smile. He was right. I didn't want to replace him. I just wanted to find out who this other man was. I wasn't even sure at the moment if I wanted to bring him into my life at all. Or even make contact with him. But there was this curiosity of where he'd been all these years and to find out a little about him. From there I could make a decision.

"From a professional stand point, I'd like to be sure he's really your biological father before we start digging. If you don't want to ask your dad to do a DNA test maybe you could get your mom to explain why she felt there was no reason to find out for sure," Ranger explained while pulling me into his lap.

I dropped my head on his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around me. I gave in to the comfort of his arms and closed my eyes. I didn't want to think any more. I just wanted to feel Ranger's arms around me. Maybe I could talk him into taking a nap with me.

"Did she tell you why she was telling you now instead of earlier?"

So much for not talking, I thought.

"She said the spark was gone in my eyes and she wanted to know if it left when you did. She also wanted me to make sure I was positive about Morelli. Positive I could make a lifetime with him," I said, running my hand down his chest in lazy circles.

"If her confession brought you here then I'm glad she told you," Ranger said with his lips on my temple.

I tipped my head back; eyes still closed, and brought Ranger's lips to mine for a soft kiss.

"I was thinking about taking a nap," I said, peeking at him with one eye.

The corners of Ranger's mouth tipped up in the promise of a grin. "Would this be the sleeping kind of nap?"

Oh boy! There was nothing I'd love more than to jump into bed with Ranger, but there was this guilt nagging at me. Not a cheating guilt, but a moving on so fast guilt. My heart still hurt from losing Morelli and I knew Morelli was still hurting, too. Was being with Ranger completely wrong?

"Babe," Ranger said.

I was frustrating him. I was still holding back from him. Would Morelli always be in the way even when the relationship was finished?

"I'm being stupid," I said.

"Not stupid," he said. "You did what was right for you and that's all that matters. You have nothing to be guilty about." Ranger kissed me on top of my head. "I might not be thinking rationally, though. I can't get your naked body out of my head. And I'd really like to get laid."

I burst out laughing and all my guilty feelings floated away. No amount of guilt was going to change how I felt. Ending things with Morelli was the right thing to do. I still hurt yes, but I wanted to be with Ranger in every way possible.

"How about you take a nap, and I'll get some paper work finished," Ranger said, scooping me up and putting me on my feet. "I want all business out of the way before tonight. I plan on bringing in the New Year properly with you."

I'd forgotten it was New Year's Eve. Morelli had all these plans and now here I was in a different state without even telling him I was leaving, and on top of that I broke up with him. The guilt was back in full force. Was everything with Ranger happening too soon? Should I have waited until I was over Morelli? Could I put things on hold with Ranger for a month or two?

I looked up at Ranger and met his chocolate brown eyes. There was no putting anything on hold. I couldn't walk away from him, from us. I'd regret it for the rest of my life. I wanted to be with him.

"So what's the plan for tonight, Manoso?" I asked, snaking my arms around his waist.

"You, me, champagne, and no cell phones. That's the plan," he said.

It sounded perfect. Ranger and quiet. The perfect combination.

"I'm gonna take a nap," I said.

Ranger dropped a kiss on my head, and I started for the bedroom just as my cell phone rang. I turned back around and looked at the coffee table where it sat. Ranger picked it up and checked the display screen.

"It's your mom," he said, handing me the phone.

"So much for a nap," I groaned.

"Take it with you to bed," Ranger said. "Let me know if you need anything."

I nodded, turned back for the bedroom, and flipped open my cell.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Not my characters and they may seem to be OOC at times. Takes place after LMT. Don't know how many spoilers there'll be. This fic was inspired by a drama that took place on my husband's side of the family. And well Stace said I needed to write it.

Thanks to Stayce for editing

Confessions

Chapter Five

The conversation with my mother wasn't one I was looking forward to. I knew she wouldn't be happy about my break up with Morelli. I hoped she'd at least be supportive, but I wasn't going to hold my breath.

As I walked into Ranger's bedroom, I flipped my phone open, completely ready for her to start in on me. It was always the same. "Why me," said fifteen different times, crossing herself every other sentence, and surely she'd have the bottle of whatever booze was headlining her pantry this week close by.

"Hi, mom," I said, flopping down on Ranger's king-sized bed.

"Where are you?" my mom cried out without a thought to returning the hello.

"Miami."

I still wasn't sure what we were doing in Miami. I'd never gotten around to asking Ranger. I knew he had been on some kind of secret save the world kind of mission, but I didn't know why he flew into Miami when he was finished instead of New Jersey.

"Stephanie Plum, what were you thinking getting on that plane without telling Joe?"

"The plane trip wasn't something I was expecting, and honestly I just wanted to get to Ranger. I didn't want to explain to Joe what I was doing and why."

"Well you better explain now. You owe him the truth. That man was beside himself last night. How could you do that to him?"

A fresh wave of guilt washed over me at how much I hurt Morelli by not being completely honest right from the beginning. I shouldn't have accepted his proposal, and I shouldn't have held off on telling Ranger how I felt. If I could go back and make changes I would, but the outcome would still be the same. Morelli would still get hurt, and I'd still be with Ranger.

Staying with Morelli wasn't an option. Even if I still loved him. I'd be sad and unsure about what life could've been like with Ranger. And I'd still be walking through life pretending to be fully happy, but on the inside I'd be numb.

No, coming to Miami was a good thing. It meant a relationship with Ranger. It meant knowing that Ranger loved me without qualifications. Miami was where I wanted to be. Where I needed to be. Where my heart was. There was no turning back. I didn't want to turn back. All I wanted was to move forward. Morelli was my past. My future was Ranger.

"I never intended to hurt Joe, Mom. But I did. And I'm tremendously sorry about that. I've already talked to him this morning. He knows everything. Probably more then he ever wanted to know."

"Well that's good. I'm glad everything is out in the open," she said. "Where does that leave your relationship?"

"In the past," I said, cringing as to how she was going to respond.

She was quiet for a moment, digesting the information. "I can't say I'm entirely happy about that, but I'm not surprised. Some part of me wanted you to make it work. Have a nice Burg life. But the rest of me knew it wasn't really going to happen. Your heart isn't in the Burg life."

I was shocked. I'd expected yelling and nagging. I never thought she'd support me. What happened to my mother? Maybe Grandma was right about the aliens. They must really exist. Some of them clearly snatched my mom and replaced her with the woman I was currently talking to.

"Who decided to end the engagement?" she asked while I sat in shocked silence.

"I did."

"Can I ask why?"

I was momentarily taken aback again. She'd never asked for permission. She just demanded away not caring if it was her business or not.

"I'm being true to myself."

"Are you and Ranger …" she left the question hanging.

"We're going to give a relationship a try," I said, quietly.

"That's what you really want?" she asked.

"Very much so."

"I just want you to be happy, Stephanie. I can't understand how Ranger is right for you. I get that you love him, but do you love him enough to end what you had with Joe? I wanted you to think things over, not jump so quickly into a decision that will change your life …"

I interrupted her before she could say any more.

"So when you told me to be true to myself, what you really meant was be true to myself as long as the truth left me marrying Morelli? Isn't that being true to you? True to the Burg?" I asked, icily. "How is that being true to me?"

Ranger stepped into the bedroom at that moment. He eyed me, and I could imagine I was a nice shade of red. I could feel the heat coming off my cheeks. Normally I got an eye twitch when talking to my mother, but right now she had me steamed. I couldn't take the do-as-I-say attitude any more. It was infuriating and demeaning. I wasn't a child. I could make my own decisions and she'd just have to live with it.

Ranger moved silently though the room to the bed. "You okay?" he asked, quietly.

I didn't answer him because truth was I wasn't okay. I was far from okay. I was two seconds away from hanging up the phone and turning it off. And if I didn't have important information to ask my mom I'd do just that.

"That's not what I'm trying to get across, Stephanie. It's your decision to make, and I support the decision. Ranger is always welcome in my home. I don't know him, but I do know that he's always taken care of you. If Ranger is who makes you happy then that's all I want. I just always thought you were happy with Joe."

"I was happy to an extent. I was happier before the engagement. When I left Trenton I was numb. The numbness is gone now. And I know that I was numb because I needed Ranger in my life," I told my mother.

"If you're sure then that's what matters. I just don't want you to make the same mistakes I made. I know what it's like to think the man that inspires you to be unique, and not just another one of the many, is the man of your dreams. It has to be more than that. There has to be support in every way. Protection from the world. A stable life where you can raise a family."

"You just described Ranger," I said, locking eyes with the man himself. "Morelli didn't support me, mom. And he certainly didn't inspire me to be anything but just like all the rest. He may have given me a stable life, but I don't want to raise a family. At least not right now, maybe not ever. What I want is Ranger," I said.

"I don't really want to talk about it any more, though. What I want to know is about the man you had an affair with."

Ranger tilted his head to the side, still watching me. I nodded to the bed. He stayed standing for a moment longer before climbing on the bed next to me. His back was propped up against the headboard with his legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles. I pulled the phone away from my ear and turned it on speaker phone. I was still edgy and I knew I'd miss something important. I wanted Ranger to hear everything, too, so nothing would get missed.

"Stephanie, I already told you about him. I don't think we need to go over this again," she said, letting out a sigh.

"Yes we do. This is important to me. You might be over it and have moved on, but I'm just learning about this," I said, not taking no for an answer. "Will you please just start at the beginning?"

There was a long pause before she answered. "Fine. If this will help you move on then I'll tell you."

I wanted to jump in and tell her I wasn't looking to move on. I didn't want the answers so I could bury it and not care. I wanted them so I could move forward. But Ranger's foot nudged mine and I kept my mouth closed. Saying something to contradict her just might make her close up. She was the only person with answers. I didn't want to go find this guy, which I didn't even know, looking for answers.

"Your dad and I met when I was eighteen. I'd just graduated from high school, and he was just back from serving in the Army. It was love at first sight. My parents loved him. He was everything they ever wanted for me," she began.

I opened my mouth to interrupt, but Ranger grabbed my hand, squeezing it. He had patience. I did not. I didn't understand how my parents first meeting had anything to do with the affair she had years later.

"We dated for a year before he proposed. I said yes immediately. Mom and I started planning the perfect Burg wedding. And everything turned out beautifully. Everybody was there. I was so happy. I never dreamed I'd have such a perfect life with the perfect man."

She gave a deep sigh. I figured she was thinking back, remembering how it all started. My annoyance was quickly disappearing as I listened to her tell her story.

"Everything was great at the beginning. We adjusted well to living together. Your dad was working at the post office, supporting us, and I was making a home for us. We'd bought this house right after getting married.

"About six months in something started feeling off for me. I didn't really understand why. I had everything I'd ever wanted. A nice home, a wonderful husband, great friends, the perfect life. But something was missing."

I knew deep down inside what she meant. That was how I'd be. Except I'd know what was missing. He was sitting right next to me. I'd spend every day of my married life wondering what Ranger was doing. What it would have been like to be with him. And I would have slowly ruined my marriage.

"So what happened?" I asked, leaning my head on Ranger's shoulder. He pressed a kiss to the top of my head as we waited for my mom to continue.

"Nothing happened. The feeling continued to grow, and I went on with my life pretending everything was great."

Our family did denial well.

"After a year of marriage I found out I was pregnant. We were overjoyed, and I thought maybe that's what was missing. I needed to be a mother. That's what was important in life. I got married, started making a perfect home, and now I needed the children to fill the home, right?"

I got what she was saying, since that was what I'd had ingrained in me since I was walking, but the concept was lost on me. I really didn't understand the need. I'd never felt it. Even when I started dating Morelli and marriage talk started coming up. I never felt the _need_ to have children. I wasn't a proper Burg girl, and I wasn't hurt knowing that.

Mom continued on without waiting for an answer.

"Valerie was born and I was busy taking care of two people, but on my down time I was still plagued with this feeling that I needed something else in my life. Something more. I tried talking to your dad about it, but he didn't understand, and it started causing problems in our marriage. Your dad was getting frustrated with me, and I was pulling away from him.

"One day close to Val's first birthday, I left her with mom and went to the mall. I needed to get the shopping done, and it was a perfect excuse to have some alone time. I was in a toy store and a man approached me. He was shopping for his only niece's first birthday and didn't have a clue what to get her. I helped him pick out an age appropriate gift and we went our separate ways, without exchanging names."

"That was him?" I asked.

"Yes," mom said. "That was when we first saw each other."

"Will you tell me about him? Not just the affair, but all about him?" I asked, suddenly desperate for information. Even if I chose to never contact him in any way, I'd have something.

"We ran into each other later in the food court. And I mean literally we ran into each other. It was then that we exchanged names. Alassandro Dante Mancini. Dante was the name he went by. We helped each other gather our shopping bags and again went our separate ways," my mom explained, softly.

Ranger reached for the nightstand drawer and took out a tablet and pen. He wrote down the name with a few question marks at the end. I was guessing for spelling purposes. I didn't really want to ask my mom how to spell his name. That would lead to a million questions that I didn't have answers to, yet. I wasn't sure about where I wanted to go from here, but I wanted my options. And I didn't want to have to explain my options.

"There was something about him, though," my mother continued. There was softness to her voice. Affection maybe. Did she still have feelings for him? Even after all these years? Was it just the remembering that made her soften?

"What?" I asked, leaning closer to the phone.

"I couldn't get him out of my head. I saw him in my dreams. His smile and laugh haunted me. I didn't even know him. I had a name and that was it. Yet I thought about him all the time. I'd find myself smiling for no other reason than I'd been thinking about him. Remembering his beautiful smile." She paused, and I raised an eyebrow wanting to know what she was thinking. "Your smile," she finally said.

My mouth dropped open and I looked at Ranger, my eyes burning with sudden tears. Was she right? Did I have his smile?

Ranger leaned closer to me, his mouth on my ear. "I know how she feels. It's an amazing smile," he whispered.

He pulled back, locking our eyes and brushed his thumb over my mouth before dropping his lips to mine for a soft kiss.

"But I guess I'm getting ahead of myself," my mom said, interrupting the kiss.

I wanted to shout at her. Tell her no. I wanted to know more about my smile. More about what else I had that reminded her of him. But she continued on, not giving me a chance to jump in.

"A week went by before I saw him again. I was at a gas station fueling up the car, and he came out of the store and stopped at the car in front of me. He noticed me and we talked for a few minutes before going on about our day.

"It went that way for a few months. We'd run into each other out of the blue and talk for a bit. The talking gradually increased in length. After a few months we were seeing each other at least a few days a week and we'd talk for hours at a time. It was a time I'd started to treasure. I looked forward to running into him. We told each other everything. He knew I was married and had a one-year-old. There was no pressure to be more than just friends. And it felt nice."

"What did he tell you about himself?"

"Oh," she said on a sigh. "That was so long ago. I remember he'd just moved to Trenton. I can't remember where from. He didn't live in the Burg, though. He had a condo in Hamilton Township. I don't remember much. I haven't thought about it in years. I want to say he has two brothers, one older, the other younger, and a younger sister. The niece belonged to the older brother. Three nephews, I think. It was just so long ago."

I was pretty sure she remembered more than she was letting on. She most likely forced herself to forget, pushing the information to the back of her mind. I had a hard time believing that she could forget about a person that she still clearly had affection for. Buried affection, but it was still there.

"When did the relationship become more?" I asked.

"It was a slow process. I started to crave the time I spent with him. He made me feel special, and even though we were just friends, I couldn't help but be attracted to him. He was a very handsome man. Sexy."

Ugh, I thought, internally groaning as I looked at Ranger. I didn't want to hear about my mom thinking a man was sexy. That stepped on my comfort level. It was bad enough that I had to acknowledge she had sex.

Ranger was looking at me with the almost smile on his face. He could probably tell exactly how I felt about the entire sexy comment.

I mean I got that mom was a woman, but damn couldn't she leave out stuff that makes her daughter feel icky? I wasn't finding Ranger's amusement in the matter at all humorous. He wouldn't be laughing if it was his mom we were talking to.

"I was attracted to him," my mom went on, not having a clue that I was making the icky face. "I knew it was wrong, and I felt incredibly guilty for even thinking about him in that way, but I couldn't help myself. Every time we saw each other I grew more and more fond of him, and slowly I gave into the feelings. It started with small touches. Hand touching, little hugs, kissing on the cheek. The cheek kissing turned to small kisses. That's really where the barrier broke. Once we kissed for the first time, the relationship quickly turned into a full fledged affair."

She stopped talking and I could hear the hurt and guilt in her voice. She was still punishing herself after all these years. I never wanted to have that feeling. Never before was I so glad I finally made a real choice. I was positive I would have been in the same place she found herself if I'd married Morelli. And it would have been easier for me. I was already in love with two men.

I heard her make a noise like she was going to say something, but changed her mind. Or maybe she just couldn't make the words come out of her mouth. She cleared her throat and I could picture the sickened facial expression. Tight knot in the throat, stopping any form of conversation. I didn't want her to bring up all the painful memories, but I had a right to know. If she didn't want to have all this dragged up she shouldn't have told me. She knew me better than to think I wouldn't want the entire story.

"Mom, it was a long time ago. It's time to let go of the guilt. It happened. You can't take it back. You fixed it. Made amends and everything worked out fine with you and dad. I'm not asking to hurt you. I deserve to know the truth," I said, softly.

"I know you do. It's just hard. Thinking about all this again. There hasn't been a day that has gone by that I'm not thankful for the second chance I got with your dad. And I've spent every day making sure he knows how much I love him and how much I appreciate him."

She let out a long breath and I waited her out. Letting her gather her thoughts so she could continue.

"The affair only lasted a month once it turned sexual. Your dad confronted me one day demanding to know what was going on. I was very withdrawn from him and he was noticing. I sat down that night and really thought about what I was doing and where my life was going. I knew there were real feelings for Dante there, but I also knew they weren't the forever kind of feelings. I knew that what we had together was great for the moment, but I didn't feel like I could count on it continuing for much longer. I knew without a doubt in my mind that my marriage could be forever if I wanted it to be. Your dad was committed to me and I was ruining it. I was being selfish.

"I called Dante the next day and arranged for us to meet. We made love one last time and we both knew it was good bye. There was no talking. He kissed me softly, and I walked out the door, never looking back."

"Mom," I said, softly, my heart breaking for her. I knew at that moment that she was in love with Dante. Dante, that's who he was to me. He wasn't my dad or even my father. I didn't know him. I couldn't bring myself to think of him as a figure in my life.

I heard her sniff and she started talking again. Softer, almost a whisper.

"That night I told your dad everything. There were a lot of tears and some yelling, but it was said. There were no more secrets. And when your dad turned away from me and walked out the house, I swore if he forgave me I'd devote the rest of my life to making him happy."

"What did he say, mom? He just walked out the door?" I asked, tears streaming down my cheeks.

"He needed to think about if he even wanted to make it work. If it was worth it. He didn't look at me for weeks, but I did everything I could to prove to him that I was his forever. I tried to show him what our life could be like.

"By the end of the second week I was beginning to lose hope. I didn't think he was going to forgive me. He still wasn't talking to me or even looking at me, and I started feeling sick. I didn't think it was from worrying. I was late and I had a feeling I knew exactly what was going on. I had a test done and it came back positive. I was pregnant. It was at that moment that I figured any chance of Frank forgiving me was out the window."

I knew they worked it out, but I still couldn't help the knot that was forming in my stomach. I hurt for my mom and my dad.

"He finally came to me a few days after I found out about you. He told me that he couldn't just forget what I did, but that he was willing to give us another try. Before I could let him go on I told him I was pregnant. He didn't even pause. Told me it didn't matter. That he'd raise you as his own. I knew that no matter what we had to do to get back to the way we were I'd do it. I was so relieved I made the right decision. We started going to counseling and we became best friends again. Built our trust back up. The rest is history," she finished.

"Why didn't you ever find out for sure whether Dante or dad was my biological father?" I asked.

"I told you. There was no need to," she responded, sounding tired.

"Why?" I asked, determined to get all the answers this time.

"Once I began the affair with Dante, I was never intimate with your father again until he forgave me. There was no doubt as to who your biological father was," she said. "I just couldn't be with them both. It was hard enough knowing that I was cheating on my husband."

"So Dante _is_ my biological father," I said, looking at Ranger.

He reached his hands up and wiped the tears from my eyes, not saying anything, but I could feel his support. His touch was gentle. His eyes were locked with mine. I could see the question reflecting back at me. And I knew we'd talk later about what my next step was going to be. At the moment I just needed to absorb the information. I knew he'd support whatever decision I made and he'd be by my side through it, helping me, loving me.

"That shouldn't matter, Stephanie. Frank is your dad, not Dante. Don't put your dad through all this all over again," my mother said, harshly, her voice snapping my eyes from Ranger's.

"If it didn't matter, mom, then why did you tell me?"

"I told you so you wouldn't make the same mistake I did. I didn't want you to marry Joe and find yourself in Ranger's bed a month into the marriage. I _did not_ tell you so you'd hunt Dante down and drag him back into our lives again," she said. "Please do not do this, Stephanie. Think of your dad. Even if you don't care about my feelings on the matter, you should at least care about how your dad would feel if you brought the man I had an affair with back into our lives. Not only would it drag up painful memories, but can't you see how he might be hurt that you don't care that _he_ raised you. Dante doesn't even know you exist. How do you think he'll feel if you just show up on his door step all the sudden claiming to be his daughter?"

"Mom!" I said, loudly, trying to break up her tirade. "I never said I was going to do anything about knowing this information, but it's my choice. I would never bring him back in your lives no matter what. If, and that's a big if, I decide to contact him, it will be strictly between the two of us. And he's not my dad. I have a dad. I don't need another one. But why can't he be my friend? I would never force myself on him. It would be his choice. And I'm not saying he'll even need to make that choice."

"Will you please just think this over? Don't do anything rash. And God forbid, don't hop on another plane and make another life altering change," she said.

"I promise, mom," I said. "I'll talk to you later."

"Call me when you're headed back."

"I will."

I disconnected the phone and stared at the name on the piece of paper sitting on Ranger's lap. Now what?

Suddenly I felt Ranger's lips on my ear. "Proud of you, Babe," he said, and nipped at my lobe.

Instantly my hormones sat up straight. My mouth went dry and my panties went wet. The man was going to be the death of me.

I turned my head, my eyes landing on his full lips. The corners were tipped up in the promise of a smile. I licked my dry lips and dragged my eyes up his face. His eyes were smiling, but when he caught the obvious state I was finding myself in the chocolate brown turned black with desire. He cocked an eyebrow and looked down at my chest. I was positive he could see my nipples through my shirt. If they got any harder they were bound to rip right through the cotton material. His eyes met mine again and the bastard actually had the nerve to look smug.

Why now of all times did my hormones have to make an appearance? Couldn't they have waited until tomorrow so I wouldn't feel so damn guilty about wanting him deep inside me when I just ended things with Morelli a few hours ago?

Ranger's hands framed my face, his eyes penetrating my hormonal fog. "Don't feel guilty for wanting me, Babe," he said, softly. "We'll take this slow. No pressure."

I kissed him and whispered 'thanks' against his lips.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Not my characters and they may seem to be OOC at times. Takes place after LMT. Don't know how many spoilers there'll be. This fic was inspired by a drama that took place on my husband's side of the family. And well Stace said I needed to write it. Thanks to Lindsay, Beth C, Kat, Haleigh and Linda for ideas and help with the chapter.

This story is 100 R rated. Due to language and sexual content. You've been warned.

Thanks to Stayce for editing

Confessions

Chapter Six

Ranger curled his fingers around the back of my neck and pulled me back to him for another kiss. His lips brushed against mine, sending shivers down my body. I leaned into him and wrapped my arms around his waist, my fingers sliding up his back. His tongue swept across the seam of my lips, begging for entrance. And just as I opened my mouth to deepen the kiss, my stomach let out the most God awful growl.

Ranger pulled back laughing. "We better feed the beast," he said, his eyes dancing with amusement.

Probably a good idea.

Ranger laced our fingers together. "Do you want to eat in or out?" he asked.

I thought about it for a moment. I was in Miami, where I'd never been before. Going out and seeing the city held a lot of appeal. On the other hand I probably looked like death warmed over after all the crying I'd done.

"In," I said.

"I'll call down and order lunch," Ranger told me. "Why don't you relax for a while."

He leaned down and kissed me softly and left the room.

There was a lot I needed to think about, and at the top of my list was my relationship with Ranger. Was there a point in holding back for a bit? My reasoning was because I felt guilty for moving on so quickly after ending things with Morelli. But was that logical? Was it fair? It wasn't something I wanted. It just felt like something I should do.

But really, there was no point to that logic. It wouldn't help Morelli's heart hurt less. It, however, could potentially damage my very new relationship with Ranger. We deserved a real chance. No guilt between us. No holding back. All or nothing.

Second on my thinking list was Dante. What was I going to do about Dante? I didn't want to cause my parents any more heartache, but should that keep me from learning about my biological father? Was that the only thing holding me back from looking him up?

_No!_

I didn't want to look him up only to find out the man was a dickwad. There was a real fear that I wouldn't like what I found out about him. And if that happened, there was the fear that I'd think differently of myself. As stupid as that sounded, it was a real concern. I knew deep inside that I was who I was because of how I was raised and my own beliefs, but the man did give me his DNA.

On the other side of my concern was that I'd really, really like him. And I almost didn't want to. I didn't understand that one, though. Why couldn't I like him? Maybe it was more that I felt like I shouldn't. He had an affair with my mom, breaking my dad's heart. He knew she was married. He knew she had a family. Yet he still slept with her.

_You wouldn't exist. _My head told me.

Cause for another concern. I rather liked existing.

There was a doorbell in the distance. I heard some talking. Ranger and a woman. Curious about Miami Ella I left the bedroom to meet the woman.

I walked into the dinning room and saw a woman in her early fifties with dark brown hair in a tight bun standing in the kitchen. She looked about 5'4" and very petit. She was busy unloading the cart holding silver covered trays.

Ranger was sitting at the bar reading a stack of papers. Corporate Manoso at his best. He slid his eyes to me and smiled.

"Babe, this is Serena Ramon," he said, softly, taking my hand and pulling me to the stool next to him. "Serena, this is Stephanie Plum."

"Hi," I said, settling on the stool.

"It's very nice to meet you, Stephanie," Serena said, smiling. Her smile lit up the kitchen. It was an infectious smile. The kind that insisted on everybody being happy.

She set two silver trays on the bar in front of our plates. Then she placed a third tray in the fridge. That was holding my attention more than the food in front of me.

"I hope you like it, dear," Serena said, dragging my attention from the fridge.

I smiled. "I'm sure I will," I said. "If you're anything like Ella, then I know I'll love it. Even if it's rabbit food."

"Rabbit food?"

"Yeah, you know," I said, "mostly green, no taste, no chocolate, no fat."

She burst out laughing and starting pushing the cart to the door. "The dessert's in the fridge," she said.

"Dessert?"

I jumped from my stool and tore into the kitchen, ripping the fridge door open. Inside was a silver dish. I pulled it out and uncovered it. Positioned dead center was the most beautiful piece of tiramisu.

"I love you," I said to Serena.

She laughed again. "Ranger called down this morning and asked that I make that up for you."

I turned and looked at Ranger, still holding the dish. I couldn't believe I was holding dessert in Ranger's apartment. The door quietly closed and I looked back to find Serena gone.

"You ordered me dessert?" I asked, looking back at Ranger.

He smiled and lifted the lid on the dish sitting in front of him. I walked around the bar and set the dish on my plate before softly grabbing Ranger's face and pulling it around to meet my lips.

"I think I'll have my dessert for lunch."

"You sure, Babe?" he asked. "You haven't looked at what Serena made you."

I looked at Ranger's plate. Chicken breasts with some kind of nut, spinach and strawberry salad, and creamy asparagus spears. "Oh I'm sure. This is begging to be eaten."

Ranger shook his head, smiling, and lifted the lid on my lunch dish. I flicked my eyes up and my jaw dropped. Chicken fettuccine with sun dried tomatoes. I looked at Ranger, trying to decide if I should kiss him again, rip his clothes off, or eat the delicious meal in front of me.

"You ordered me this?" I asked instead.

"I figured you might kill me if I had you eating salad after the day you've had."

He actually ordered me fat and dessert. Hell must've frozen over.

I scooped up a bite of my food and moaned it was so good.

"So why exactly are we in Miami?" I asked after swallowing my bite.

"I was scheduled to come here, but I got called away. I like to spend a few weeks here and in Boston every three months or so, just to make sure everything is running smoothly." Ranger paused and speared an asparagus. "I planned to spend two days here before heading to Boston for another two days. I wanted to get home, so I cut my time short."

"Why were you in such a hurry to get home?"

He cut his eyes to me. "I was hoping you weren't married, yet."

I blinked a few times. What did that mean? Was he planning on talking me out of marrying Morelli? If so, why hadn't he said something when I told him? What had he planned? Had he planned to try and stop my wedding and then what?

"Why didn't you know if I was married, yet?" I asked.

"I only talked to Tank twice while I was gone, and the conversations were two minutes max," he explained. "Not a lot of time to check on my personal life."

"I was your personal life?"

"Yes." His voice was matter-a-fact, and left no room for argument.

His personal life. I liked the way that sounded. I knew he always considered me his family, but for some reason calling me his personal life sounded more permanent. More intimate. But I couldn't help but wonder if I'd never hopped the plane, if I'd ever know how he really felt. I knew once Ranger set his mind to something, he didn't give up until he'd accomplished his goal, but would he really have stepped into _my_ personal life with Morelli to stop me from getting married?

"I would've said something to you the day you told me about the engagement, but my mind was already on the job," he said after a long silence.

"What would you have said?"

"I'm not sure, Babe," he admitted honestly. "I don't generally put myself out on the line, unless I know it's not in vain."

My fork paused half way to my mouth. "I'd never pegged you for a coward, Ranger," I said, turning to face him.

"I'm not a coward, Steph. I won't put myself in situations that I'm unsure about."

I thought about that for a moment. It made sense. Why allow yourself to get hurt if you can prevent it? And that explained the lone wolf syndrome, as well as the control issues. But that had to be such a lonely life. Sometimes you have to throw yourself to the wolves to get what you really wanted in life.

"Ranger, I get what you're saying, but sometimes you have to take risks."

"Don't get me wrong. I take risks often enough, but when I feel like it's going to back-fire I pull back."

"Self-preservation?"

"Yes."

"I know that move, well."

Ranger smiled and picked our plates up, but left me my fork. I had dessert to devour. I slid the forkful in my mouth and my eyes dropped shut. My tongue was dancing at the different tastes exploding in my mouth. I opened my eyes back up and Ranger was watching me, his eyes black with desire.

"What do you want to do tonight?" he asked his voice more husky than normal.

I licked my fork off, loving the way his eyes darkened. "What are our options?"

"What ever you want to do, Babe," he said. "We can go out or stay in. Your choice."

"I'm not exactly prepared for a night out. All I have is RangeMan uniforms."

"We can go buy you anything you need. If you want to go out then that's what we'll do."

I looked at the clock on the microwave. It was after one o'clock. I'd have to scramble to get ready in time to go out. I could, but honestly I didn't feel the slightest whim to do such a thing. It had been an extremely stressful day. Running around shopping and rushing to get ready didn't seem like a nice end to the day I had. Quiet sounded more like what I needed.

"Is it okay if we stay in?" I asked.

"Sounds good, Babe," Ranger said. A soft smile appeared on his lips.

I looked at him a bit closer and could see lines around his eyes. He seemed more alert than normal. Almost like he was forcing himself to keep moving, to stay focused. I should've noticed. He'd only been back from his save the world job for a day. I didn't know what he did on his jobs, but I was positive he had to be drained.

"Do you have more work to do?" I asked, taking my plate and fork to the sink.

Ranger grabbed me and pulled me to him. "I do," he said.

"Okay, well, I'll let you get to it. I'm going to get cleaned up a bit."

Ranger gave me a lingering kiss on my temple, and I walked off to the bathroom.

I stepped into the bathroom and walked to the mirror. My eyes were slightly puffy and red rimmed. I was going to kill Ranger for not telling me I looked like shit before introducing me to Serena.

I turned on the faucet, running the water until it was warm, and washed my face. I blindly reached for the hand towel I knew was hanging next to the sink and pulled it off, drying my face with the fluffy fabric. While lowering the towel, I looked back in the mirror and caught the sparkle from my engagement ring that was still on my finger.

I'd been so used to wearing it over the past three months, that I simply forgot it was there. Blowing out a breath, I hung the towel back up and slowly removed the ring from my finger. I held it between my thumb and forefinger. It was a beautiful ring, white gold with diamonds running down both sides of the one caret marquise diamond in the center. It wasn't overly extravagant, yet it wasn't simple or boring.

I tucked the ring in my pocket and padded out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. If we were staying in for the night, I wanted to be more comfortable. I grabbed one of Ranger's T-shirt and some sweats and stripped out of all my clothes before slipping into his. There was something about feeling his clothes against my naked skin.

The ring was still in my cargo pocket as I folded them up and set them on the bench. I wasn't sure at the moment what I was going to do with the ring until I could get it back to Morelli. I knew for sure it was going back to Morelli. I wasn't about to keep it. Not that seeing Morelli to give him back the ring was high on my list of things I wanted to do, but it was on the list of moving on.

And moving on was what I was doing. Full speed ahead with Ranger.

The apartment was quiet when I exited the master suite. I scanned the rooms and found Ranger sitting at his desk typing away on his laptop. The desk was positioned in a corner by the windows in the living room. I walked over and ran my hand along his back from shoulder to shoulder.

"What are you working on?" I asked, looking over his head at the laptop.

"Year end reports," he said, scrolling down the page.

"Fuuuuuunnnnn!" I said, grinning at his grunt.

Often times I forgot Ranger was a business owner. I didn't get a chance to see corporate Ranger very often, and I certainly didn't know anything about the running of RangeMan. It was clearly a very successful business. That part didn't surprise me. Ranger was a very smart man. The only part that still threw me for a loop was all the Rangers in one. And I say in one because the man has made it abundantly clear that there's only one Ranger. If I thought about it, it was true. He changed his clothes, but he was always the same. When I see him in a suit or homey jeans right out of The Gap, I couldn't help but wonder who he was. He was always the same Ranger, though. Just different threads for different occasions.

I let my fingers slide down his arm and moved two steps to the window. I sucked in a breath of air at the view. Green palm trees, buildings of all sizes, and in the distance beautiful blue water. Cars were moving across the bridge. I had no idea where in Miami the building was located or even what bridge I was looking at, but I couldn't tear my eyes away. It was stunning.

I leaned into the window, pressing my forehead to the cool glass and looked down. The street below was busy with afternoon traffic. Between the lanes was a well manicured strip of grass lined with trees. There was no sign of it being winter. The sun was shining, begging people to be outside. I wanted to be outside.

"Ranger how could you possibly leave this beautiful place to live in Trenton?" I asked, gazing out the window.

"Trenton has beautiful views, too," he said, softly.

I snorted and turned to look at him. His eyes were on me, drinking me in. I felt my heart stutter at the look in his eyes.

"Oh," I managed to squeak out. I'm such a bone head, I thought.

"I like to be close to my family, Babe," Rangers said, grabbing my hand and pulling me between his legs.

Ranger's fingers were dancing just under my ass along my legs. With every sweep of his fingers, bolts of desire shot straight through me and flashes of our one night together popped into my head. Ranger's mouth on me. His hands touching me. Him inside me, making me scream.

Ranger's eyes darkened as he studied my face. I took a step closer to him, keeping my eyes locked with his. He was mine now. Mine! I could have him as much as I wanted. I could feel his mouth and hands on me as often as I wanted.

I ran a finger down his cheek and he grabbed my hand, lacing our fingers together. Then he froze. A soft smile spread across his lips a second later as he brought my left hand to his mouth. His tongue darted out and circled my empty ring finger and my knees turned to jello. He circled my finger again and a moan escaped my parted lips. If I was wearing panties, they'd be soaked.

I looked down at him and only one thought ran through my mind. _Mine!_

He was slouched back in the leather chair wearing his typical black cargos and black painted on T-shirt. His feet were bare. That meant one less thing for me to remove.

I climbed on the chair, straddling his thighs, and leaned in. My breasts were pressed against his chest and I brought my mouth within an inch of his.

"I have something I need to tell you," I said.

His eyebrow arched and waited.

"Are you sure you can handle it?" I asked and slid my tongue across is bottom lip. "It's pretty big."

His mouth twitched and he looked like he was thinking about smiling.

"Babe."

I smiled and nipped his bottom lip. "I have to go shopping," I said.

He chuckled and drew me in closer to him. "Why's that?"

"Ella only packed me two pairs of panties."

"And?"

"I'll have ruined them all within a day with all the images running through my head of your mouth on me," I said and kissed him. "And your fingers in me." I kissed him again, longer and harder. "And you inside me, filling me."

I reclaimed his mouth, my tongue plunging between his parted lips. Ranger growled and took over the kiss as his hands fisted in my hair, holding me to him. Our tongues circled and twisted and curled until the kiss engulfed my entire body. I could feel the warmth from my toes to the roots of my hair. My lips were tingling, body shaking, pelvis tightening.

I moved my hands between us and jerked up on his shirt, removing it from his cargos. It needed to go. It all needed to go. I wanted him, and I was going to have him now.

Ranger broke from the kiss and looked at me. I didn't know what he was doing or why he felt the need to stare at me when I was in such a state. My lips felt swollen and my breasts were throbbing with need as my nipples pushed against my shirt, puckered into hard nubs.

He pulled me back to him and kissed me slowly. "Just checking, Babe," he said against my lips.

"Checking?" I questioned as I moved down his jaw, nipping and kissing and licking.

His hands fisted tighter in my hair as I found his pulse point. "That we were on the same page."

I worked my hands inside his shirt as I sucked the skin on his neck into my mouth for a second, loving the quiet moan Ranger made when I released the skin.

"I'm not sure which page you're on, but I'm on the one that says get-your-man-nekkid-and-have-your-way-with-him."

Then the door bell rang.

I jumped back from Ranger and started adjusting my clothes, like I was sixteen and just got caught by my mother making out with my boyfriend on her couch. Ranger let out a string of explicit cursing. Not all of it in English.

"Babe can you get the door?" Ranger asked, his jaw tight.

I looked at him curiously, and then dropped my eyes down to his lap. I unconsciously licked my lips at how tight his cargos were fitting him.

"Stephanie."

My eyes slowly moved back up his body to his eyes. They were burning black with desire and I couldn't help but moan.

"Christ, woman," Ranger warned, "get the damn door."

The door! Shit, right.

I quickly walked through the living and dinning room to the foyer. I ran my fingers through my hair, fixing it the best I could, and opened the door just as the bell rang again.

Standing on the other side of the door was a very large and scary man, and if I didn't know he was one of Ranger's men I'd have peed my pants. He wasn't quite as large as Tank in bulk, but he was damn close. He was Cuban and stood easily 6'6 with muscles on top of muscles. His head was buzz cut and he was dressed in a standard RangeMan uniform of black shirt and black cargos. But it was his eyes that held my attention. They were the most gorgeous emerald green.

"I bet woman fall at your feet with eyes like that," I said, and clamped a hand to my mouth when I realized I said that out loud.

The man sent out a bark of laughter.

"Omigod, I'm so sorry," I said in a rush. "There is no filter on my mouth. I can't believe I just said that."

"I like you," he said, smiling.

"That's good to know," I mumbled, feeling my face heat up. "I'm warming up to you."

"I can see that," he said, smile still in place. "Is Ranger around?"

I turned my head to the living room and watched Ranger stroll in my direction. When he reached me, he stepped behind me and wrapped his arms around my middle.

"Babe, meet Sean Diaz. He heads up the office here," Ranger said.

"Ms. Plum and I were just getting acquainted," Sean said, winking at me.

Oh lordy. Those eyes!

"Did you need something?" Ranger asked, sharply, dragging Sean's gaze from me. His blank face slammed down and he gave a sharp nod.

"We have a problem," he said to Ranger.

I felt Ranger's arms tense around my waist. Uh oh. Problem was a nasty word in Ranger's vocabulary.

"And?" Ranger asked.

"Jose Ramos is FTA and the bond is up in two days. We haven't been able to track this guy down. Two hours ago a tip came in that he'll be at Love Hate tonight."

"What's the problem?" Ranger asked.

"None of the girls we normally use for distraction are available," Sean said.

Ranger was quite for a moment. "We haven't used her for a while, but call Carol."

"Already did. She has plans and turned me down," Sean said. He let out a sigh. "We can post a crew there and wait for him to come out, but there's no saying how long he'll be there or if he's alone. It could get messy."

"I'll do it," I said, quietly.

"What?" Sean said.

"You need somebody to do distraction, I'll do it," I said, again.

"No," Ranger said. "We're not working tonight, Babe."

I turned around in Ranger's arms. "Ranger, you know that having your men wait for this guy to come out is insane. People could get hurt. Innocent people. I'll do the distraction. I just need clothes."

Ranger looked like he was going to say no again, but after a moment he gave a nod and turned his attention to Sean. "Have Serena call Ella to get Steph's size. She needs to pick something up for her immediately. Make sure she understands it's for a distraction job."

"Are you sure about this?" Sean asked Ranger.

At his words I whipped around to face him. I couldn't help but get a pissed. I knew he didn't know me, but I figured he at least knew about me. He knew my name when I opened the door, after all.

"Is there a problem?" I asked, maybe a bit snappish.

I felt Ranger smile against my temple. "Easy tiger."

"No, Ranger, I want to know if Sean here has a problem with me doing the distraction job."

"I don't mean to offend you, Ms. Plum, but distraction jobs are very serious. You can get hurt if you don't know what you're doing," he said.

"I'm a bounty hunter, Mr. Diaz," I spat out. "I'm perfectly aware of the seriousness involved in a distraction job. I've done several for RangeMan in Trenton. And in case you weren't aware, I'm a RangeMan employee."

He flicked his eyes to Ranger and back to me. "My apologies. I wasn't aware that you're a bounty hunter or a RangeMan employee," he said to me.

"Clearly," I snapped. "Yet you knew my name when I opened the door."

"Tank called me yesterday to inform me you were meeting Ranger here. I didn't inquire about who you were or why you were coming."

"Fair enough," I said. "Maybe next time you shouldn't judge a person by their appearance. I don't appreciate it. I might not be as big as any of you, but I get my job done."

"I bet you do. I'm sure you're tough as nails," he said, smiling again. "You just told me off. I've never met a woman that was brave enough to do that."

Okay so I was internally shaking in my boots, but having Ranger's arms wrapped around me was making me feel braver than I really was. In fact Ranger's arms were getting pretty tight around me. He was either getting pissed at me or Sean. I hoped it wasn't me. We just got together; I'd hate to be shipped off to some third world country for telling off his second in command in Miami.

"Yeah well, I'm not as brave as you might think. I'm just not scared of RangeMan employees."

"Don't under estimate yourself, Babe," Ranger said and kissed me on the temple.

"Diaz, get everything ready for the take down. We'll meet in conference room three at eight-thirty."

Sean gave a small nod and turned to get on the elevator behind him. Ranger reached around me and snapped the door shut. Just as the door clicked in place, I was spun around a pressed into the door, and Ranger pierced me with an intense look.

"Ranger, I …"

"Shhhh."

He leaned into me and brushed his lips across mine. I still wasn't sure what was going on. Was he angry with me? Then he pressed his body full-length against mine. We were touching from lips to knees.

"Ranger?" I mumbled against his mouth.

"I'm trying to control myself here, Babe. But you've gotta stop talking."

My body tensed up of its own accord. What was he trying to control? He shifted against me, and pushed his hips into mine. Holy shit! The tension left my body and I was instantly filled with intense desire.

My hands slid around his hips and I grabbed his ass, pulling him closer. He growled deep in his chest and fisted his hands in my hair, pulling enough to bring my head back a bit. His eyes were black as night and his jaw was tight.

"This is your last warning, Stephanie."

I smiled and tried to bring my head closer to his, but his fingers tightened in my hair, sending the most erotic pain shooting through my body. I had to get across to him that I wanted whatever he was about to unleash. I wanted it in the worst way possible.

I released the hold I had on his ass and slid my hands over his cheeks and up, letting a finger slid up the crack of his ass. I stopped at the top and pressed down.

Suddenly, Ranger released my hair, picked me up by my ass, and slammed me against the door. I wrapped my legs around his hips and steadied myself by grabbing his shoulders. His mouth captured mine with a hungry urgency. The intensity was so powerful, that I think I had a mini orgasm.

His tongue darted repeatedly inside my mouth, building a heat up inside me, while his hands worked at stripping away my pants without losing contact. I reluctantly dropped my legs from his hips long enough for him to remove the sweats, before I wrapped myself back around him again, craving the closeness.

My shirt was next to go as I broke from the kiss and pulled it off, throwing it into the kitchen just as Ranger plunged his thick, hard fingers into me.

"Holy fuck," I shouted, dropping my head back on the door as I sucked in a startled breath.

My back arched as I pushed myself down on his thrusting fingers, forcing air from my lungs. God I was so close. I pushed down harder, shamelessly riding his fingers, desperate for release.

Through half closed eyes, I watched Ranger flick a throbbing nipple with his tongue. He caught my eyes and held them as he pulled the nipple with his teeth into his mouth and sucked hard, releasing an explosive climax.

"Oh my fucking Gooooooood," I screamed, stars dancing in front of my eyes.

I came back from bliss long enough to hear a zipper before Ranger imbedded himself into me, again and again with quick penetrating strokes. He drove deeper inside me with each fast and frantic push as I bucked and arched and collided, meeting him stroke for stroke in perfect rhythm.

His slamming thrusts increased sending spasms of delight rocketing through me as I soared higher and higher until uncontrollable, shuddering contractions took over my body, leaving me clenching around him as I fought for more oxygen. Ranger shook violently as he slammed into me one more time before I felt him swell inside me, making me scream out when blinding, pulsing spasms claimed me again.

It could have been hours later for all I knew when Ranger's parted lips touched mine slowly and softly. All the urgency gone, leaving contentment and tenderness. His lips lingered in a feathery touch as he released my legs from around his hips. They shook when my feet hit the floor, desperately trying to hold me up. Ranger wrapped his arm around my waist and anchored me to his heated naked body. I didn't have a clue when he lost his shirt, but I honestly didn't care. I was still trying to get my breathing to even out.

"What the hell was that?" I asked in little gasps.

Ranger picked me up, shuffled his feet to completely remove his cargos, and started walking. I didn't know if I could handle another round. It might very well kill me.

"That, Babe," he said, "was me completely out of control."

"And what sent you out of control?" I asked as he tossed me in the middle of the bed.

He stood at the end of the bed, grinning as he took in my naked body. "When you told off Diaz," he finally answered. "I've never been more fucking turned on in my life."


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Not my characters and they may seem to be OOC at times. They will be back to normal soon. Takes place after LMT. Don't know how many spoilers there'll be. This fic was inspired by a drama that took place on my husband's side of the family. And well Stace said I needed to write it. This story is 100 R rated. Due to language and sexual content.

Thanks to Haleigh and Kate for letting me bounce ideas off them, and for plotting with me, and for calming my panic attacks.

Thanks to Stayce for editing

Confessions

Chapter Seven

I stepped out into the living room after getting ready for the night and caught Ranger's eyes. He slowly stood from his desk and drank me in. His eyes swept from my feet to the top of my head, lingering at the places along my body where the tight, short, black dress left no room for imagination. I watched his eyes dilate black and reminded myself to send Serena a gift basket. The dress was hot.

"Do I look okay?" I asked, looking down at myself. I already knew the answer, but I was in the mood to flirt with fire. It was the dress. I felt sexy. Hell I looked sexy. I knew that.

"The guy won't stand a chance, Babe," Ranger said, his voice husky and his eyes dark with lust.

I smiled a mischievous grin and spun around giving him the back view as I looked at him over my shoulder through lowered lashes. "How about the back? You like?" I asked, propping my hands on my hips.

The back scooped all the way down to just above the curve of my ass. I was going commando and braless.

Ranger's jaw tightened and he moved slowly toward me, stalking me. His eyes darkened with each step closer to me, and I felt myself get wet. He stopped right behind me, his eyes still locked with mine. I felt his finger on my neck and he slowly trailed it down my back to the edge of the material. Then he dropped to his knees and his tongue took the place of his finger. He licked up my back to my neck with the very tip of his tongue.

I was panting by the time his lips settled over mine. The kiss quickly intensified and I was rubbing my rear against him, begging him to take me back to the bedroom. We'd made love all afternoon, but I was desperate for more.

Suddenly he pushed me away from him and raked his hands down his face. I blinked a few times to clear the potential Ranger-induced orgasm fog.

"You drive me insane," he said, pulling me back to him. "You're a dangerous, sexy woman, and if we don't leave here right now, we aren't going anywhere but back to the bedroom."

I was trying to find the bad part in that as he groaned and pulled me to the door. Good thing I had everything, because he wasn't going to let me stay in the apartment for another second.

We stepped into the elevator at exactly eight-twenty-five. I moved to the back of the elevator and leaned against the wall, watching Ranger. He pressed the three button and leaned against the side wall. I couldn't help but smile at his attempt to keep control of the situation. Honesty I would've been fine if he lost control again and fucked me for the rest of the night. But nooooo, he had to be all responsible.

It took less than a minute for the doors to open at the third floor. Ranger held the door for me as I stepped out of the elevator into corporate RangeMan. This was the place CEO Carlos Manoso did his thing. And he did his thing in class. Truthfully I was a bit shocked. I shouldn't be, but I couldn't help the dropped jaw.

There was a large reception area filled with expensive black leather furniture, mahogany tables, and an empty black granite half moon shaped receptionist desk. The flooring was a plush beige carpet and the walls ivory with mahogany trim. Tasteful art covered the walls and live plants filled the corners.

Ranger suddenly ended my ogling and pulled me to the left where a door stood ajar.

"Is the Trenton conference area this nice?" I asked, looking back over my shoulder.

Ranger paused and looked around, like he hadn't really noticed how sophisticated the room was.

"It's set up differently. There's no waiting area," Ranger said. "Miami handles more private accounts. Trenton only has one conference room. There's three here."

"Oh," I said, following Ranger into a conference room.

When we entered the room all eyes moved to us. There were eight men total sitting in black leather chairs around a rectangular charcoal table positioned in the center of the room. The Miami Merry Men were all the typical RangeMan. No fat and muscle on top of muscle.

As eyes landed on me, small smirks started appearing on every man's face. I felt my eyes narrow. I jerked on Ranger's hand to stop his momentum. There needed to be some clarification on my capability to do the job.

Ranger looked down at me and then back at the room filled with his men. The change in his face was so fast I almost missed it. Almost! He wasn't happy with the way his men were behaving. That much was clear.

"Is there a problem?" he said, his voice quiet and menacing.

"No, Sir," was said in unison around the room.

"Let's keep that way," Ranger said and started to pull me to our seats.

"I have a problem," I said, loudly. I had a big problem, thank-you-very-much.

Ranger looked at me. "Babe?"

I walked past Ranger, hoping he wouldn't get completely pissed at me and looked at each man. The smirks were turning to grins and every second that passed the grins widened.

"Do any of you have a problem with me doing this job?" I asked, making eye contact with each man in the room.

"No, Ma'am," was the reply of the grinning men.

Sean was sitting in one of the chairs at the head of the table. He gave me a wink and a small smile. I kept my eyes locked with his and watched him until the smile reached his eyes and he looked seconds from full out laughing.

I let out a huff of air and turned back to Ranger. His eyes met mine and softened for a second before going back to the blank hard look. "Why are they grinning at me?" I asked, tightening my hands into fists. I was a second away from stomping my feet I was so annoyed. And as childish as that sounded, it just might make me feel better.

"That would be my fault, Ms. Plum," Sean said, standing up from his chair.

"Diaz?" Ranger questioned, his eyes hardening further.

He looked at Ranger for a moment, doing some kind of silent exchange. And once again I found myself cursing that I couldn't do ESP. Just as I was really starting to get pissed, Sean turned his eyes back to me.

"I apologize that you took the grins the wrong way," he said to me. "I've briefed all the men about you. They know you're qualified. They also know you told me off. If I'm not mistaken, their expressions are of respect."

Respect! Yeah, right. More like amusement. All I was good for was providing the Merry Men with entertainment. I was always the source of entertainment. I shrugged my shoulders in a whatever gesture and headed to the empty chair I guessed was for me.

Ranger took the chair at the end of the table between Sean and me. His knee touched mine and he gave it a nudge. I looked at him, but couldn't figure out what the look in his eyes was all about. I looked away and waited for Ranger to start the meeting. I could feel his eyes on me for a moment longer.

"Fill me in on this FTA," he said, officially starting the meeting.

I pretty much zoned out. Not only do meetings bore me, but I was brooding over once again being the entertainment for the evening. Plus I knew Ranger would fill me in on the FTA in the car on the way to wherever we were going. All I needed was to know what the guy looked like and where I was going. It was easier for me if I didn't know what he was out on bail for. That just made me nervous. If the guy was a rapist, my job was easier not having that piece of information. I knew he was dangerous or RangeMan wouldn't have him. I knew I had to be safe and think smartly.

Ranger passed me the file when he was done looking at it and started in on the game plan. I probably should've listened, but I just couldn't find it in me to pay attention. Instead I opened the file of the FTA and stared at the picture.

The guy was attractive in a way. Not drop dead gorgeous, but certainly he caught a few looks. His hair was wavy and a sandy blond color. He wore it medium length with his soft waves ending right at his shoulders. His eyes were crystal blue, and all and all he looked like somebody you could trust. That had my spidey sense going haywire. I'd have to be careful with this one. He was good at the game he played. The fact that his file was four inches thick only added to my feeling.

I flicked my eyes up to the guy's name. Ezekiel Jose Ramos. Five foot 11 inches, 244 pounds, and thirty-two years of age. That was all I needed to know. I moved my eyes back to his picture and memorized it.

"Let's move out," Ranger said, breaking my stare down with Ramos's picture. "I want everybody in place for thirty minutes before Steph goes in."

I gave one last look at Ramos, flipped the file closed, and pushed my chair back from the table. All the guys were filing out of the room, leaving Sean, Ranger, and me alone. Ranger was giving me a strange look again and Sean was looking between the two of us with interest. I was about to get him interested in my middle finger. I didn't want to be in a room with him. He thought I was a joke and clearly so did all the rest of Ranger's men.

"Are we leaving?" I asked, standing up from my seat.

"In a minute," Ranger said, picking up the file from the table.

He flipped it open and stared at the picture for a moment, and then handed it to Sean. "Are you ready to do this job?" he asked, looking me dead in the eyes.

I nodded my head.

"You don't have any questions? You're completely clear about how things are going to happen tonight?"

I should've been embarrassed that he noticed I wasn't paying attention during the meeting, but really all I felt was anger. Anger that he decided to call me on not paying attention in front of Sean. Wasn't I already enough of a joke to the guys? Did he have to add to what they were going to gossip about? And I was positive they would all hear about this. Sean seemed to be faster with the gossip than the entire Burg.

"We'll meet you in the garage, Sean," Ranger said, not taking his eyes off mine.

"No _we_ won't," I said, and before I could stop myself I spun on my heels and marched my ass right out of the room.

I got to the elevator and was furiously jabbing the button when Ranger walked up to me. I didn't look at him, I just kept jabbing the button, willing the damn thing to hurry the fuck up.

"Steph," Ranger said, quietly.

"I have nothing to say to you, Ranger."

Ranger grabbed my hand and backed me into the wall. He planted his hands on each side of my face and leaned down so we were eye level. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

I quickly ducked under Ranger's arms and started for the stairwell door. I had nothing to say to him. I was holding onto my pride and the fact that he let me duck under his arms without stopping me, meant he knew I was trying to hold onto my pride.

Ranger called to me as I got to the stairwell door, and I started to turn around to flip him off but the heel of my shoe got caught up on the carpet and instead I went flying face first into the wall. Ranger grabbed me just as my head made contact with the corner and everything went black.

_RSRSRSRSRSRSRSRSRSRSRSRSRSRSRSRSRSRSRSRSRSRSRSRSRSRSRSRSRSRSRSRS_

There was a hand brushing across my cheek, whisper soft, and I was almost positive somebody was talking to me. I was too afraid to open my eyes, though. The mother of all headaches was bound to find me considering I had just become incredibly intimate with the wall.

"Come on, wake up," a voice said quietly.

Wait! What was _that_ voice doing in Miami? I opened my eyes and met brown eyes. But not the brown eyes I expected to meet. And where was my headache? I should have head throbbing by the truck load.

"We need to get up, Cupcake," Morelli said. "I let you sleep in as long as possible. I don't know how you could be so tired when you passed out right after getting home from your mom's house last night."

"Was it all a dream?" I asked out loud while I looked around.

I was in Morelli bedroom. In his bed. What happened to Miami? To Ranger? I was in a hot, little black dress. I was fighting with Ranger. Wasn't I?

"Was what a dream?" Morelli asked while pulling me to him as a grin took over his face. "Maybe we don't have to get up right this second."

I felt the reason for his grin pressed into my stomach and I instantly jumped out of the bed. I put my hands to my mouth and felt the ring on my left hand.

Oh God! It was all a dream.

No! Wait! Morelli said I was at my mom's house last night. So Dante happened. There was an affair. It was Miami that didn't happen.

I felt my stomach drop. I wanted Miami to happen. I wanted Ranger to happen. Did I dream it so vividly because I wanted it so badly?

It all felt so real, though. I was in Ranger's arms. In his bed. In his _life_!

"Cupcake, what the hell is wrong with you?"

I choked out a sob as Morelli echoed Ranger's final words. _It was all a dream_!

Of course it was a dream. Tank would never put me on a plane behind Ranger's back. Tank would never tell me where Ranger was period. It was all too easy. Dream like easy. Nothing in my life was ever easy.

_I'm not really with Ranger!_

Ohmigod! I couldn't do this all over again. I couldn't break Morelli's heart again. I couldn't do any of this again.

But what was real?

Did I call Ranger before falling asleep? Did I talk to Morelli? Does he know about Dante?

Dante!

I never had the conversation with my mother about him. I didn't know anything about how they met. How it all happened. Or anything about him. Including if I was really his daughter.

That wasn't right. I _am not_ his daughter. I had a dad. I was a Plum no matter what.

"Jesus, I can't do this," I said, sinking to my knees as tears spilled from my eyes.

Morelli was off the bed and in front of me on the floor in a second.

"You can't do what? What is going on? What happened with your mom last night?" he asked, pulling my hands from my mouth.

"What happened last night when I got back?" I asked. "Where's my phone?"

I sprang up and looked around the room, spotting it on the nightstand. I flipped it open and looked through my call history. The last call I made was to Ranger's cell phone on the 30th. That was last night, right?

"What day is it?" I asked, spinning around to look at Morelli.

"The 31st," he said, slowly. "Are you going to tell me what's going on?"

I closed my eyes and thought about the night before. I didn't know when reality ended and the dream began. I'd called Ranger, but Morelli didn't know about Dante. I must've fallen asleep after calling Ranger.

"Stephanie?" Morelli said.

I opened my eyes and looked at him. "My mom had an affair and I'm the product of said affair," I told him.

Morelli nodded and walked to me. He gathered me in his arms and held me. "What would you like to do about it?" he asked, quietly in my ear.

I swallowed heavily. Of course he'd be supportive. Why wouldn't he be? He was a good guy.

I closed my eyes again as they burned with more tears. But why did I think that he wouldn't be? Why did my subconscious have doubts? Did I just really want to be with Ranger so badly that I'd make Morelli out to be the bad guy? To make it easier on myself when I walked away from him?

Why was I thinking 'when' instead of 'if'? Did I want to walk away from him? What would I be walking away to? I didn't know how Ranger really felt? I knew how I wanted him to feel, but I didn't live in the dream world. In the real world Ranger didn't do relationships. In the real world Ranger wasn't even on the same page as I wanted him to be.

I pulled back from Morelli and looked into his eyes. The eyes I always got lost in. He was looking at me with concern and love. I was acting like a crazy person, so the concern was justified. And I knew he loved me.

"What if I told you I wanted to look this guy up?"

He framed my face with his hands and drew his thumbs across my cheeks, wiping the tears away. "If that's what you want to do, then we will," he said.

His words were like a stab to my heart. He was supposed to make this easy. He was supposed to yell and refuse and tell me everybody would talk. His wasn't supposed to help me. He wasn't supposed to … to love me so much.


	8. Chapter 8

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A/N: Not my characters and they may seem to be OOC at times. They will be back to normal soon. Takes place after LMT. Don't know how many spoilers there'll be. This fic was inspired by a drama that took place on my husband's side of the family. And well Stace said I needed to write it. This story is 100 R rated. Due to language and sexual content.

Thanks to Haleigh and Rena for letting me bounce ideas off them, and for plotting with me, and for giving me amazingly perfect music to get my muse to come home. 

Thanks to Stayce for editing 

Confessions

_His words were like a stab to my heart. He was supposed to make this easy. He was supposed to yell and refuse and tell me everybody would talk. His wasn't supposed to help me. He wasn't supposed to … to love me so much._

Chapter Eight

My heart was hammering in my chest and my eyes were burning with tears as I pushed away from Morelli. I just needed space. I needed to think, to sort out the jumbled mess of thoughts running through my mind at the speed of light.

Why couldn't my life be easy? Why did it have to be so damn complicated? If it wasn't enough to deal with my own love life, I also had this added complication of my mother's affair.

But if I was being honest with myself I could deal with the Dante issue. That wasn't my biggest problem. Not anymore. No, now Ranger and Morelli were my biggest problem. Not like they were a new problem, but now if felt bigger. Way more confusing.

It was the damn dream! My head couldn't get out of it and back to reality. The reality was Morelli. He was here with me. Within touching distance if I quit pacing long enough to reach out.

But did I want to reach out?

And then there was my heart. It wouldn't quit aching for Ranger to be near me. To hold me. I wanted to hear his voice. Feel the brush of his fingertips against my naked skin, his heart beating with mine, his gasping breath on my neck has he came.

My heart wouldn't get out of the dream either. I was happy and felt bold and relaxed and secure. So much love surrounded me in the dream. I'd never felt closer to Ranger. Whereas all I could feel now was this huge loss. No part of me wanted reality after having the dream. 

Morelli grabbed my hand, stopping my pacing and led me over to the bed. He pulled me down next to him and tucked me in tightly to his side with an arm wrapped around me. The gesture should've felt comforting, but it didn't. His touch, his tenderness increased the sadness I felt for not wanting to be here with him and made my stomach burn with guilt that it wasn't his arms I wanted around me.

"I have just the thing to cheer you up," Morelli said, giving me a squeeze.

I looked at him, trying to smile, but I couldn't get my lips to move in that direction. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah." He flashed me his sexy smile, the one that normally had me reaching for him. "You need to pack a bag for the night."

My mouth dropped open before I could stop it. What did he mean pack a bag? "Joe, I can't …"

"Yes you can," he said. "I know you want to spend your day dealing with what your mom told you last night, but one day won't matter."

"One day," I said, staring at the wall over his shoulder. One day could make all the difference in the world.

"We'll have a nice night and bring in the New Year together and tomorrow we'll get back to reality."

_Too late! I'm already back in reality. _

All I could do now was wish I was back in my dream. Where I could see Ranger again. I didn't want reality if it hurt this much.

But still, I found myself agreeing. After all, I couldn't live in a dream, right? "I guess you're right. It's only one day," I said, my voice soft.

"That's my girl," Morelli said, standing up. "Let's go take a shower and then we'll get packed and hit the road."

Instantly, without my permission, my gut flipped as the image of Ranger pressing me into the shower wall flashed through my head. "You go. I need to call my mom real fast. I'll pack while you're getting ready, and I'll get in after you're finished," I said, trying to get the image of Ranger, dripping with water smiling at me, out of my head. I couldn't live in a dream.

Shit! It was all I could do not to vomit with the situation I was in.

Morelli kissed the top of my head and headed for the bedroom door. He stopped just before leaving the room and turned, looking at me. "Steph, why did you ask if it was all a dream when you woke up? Were you talking about the affair?" He leaned his shoulder against the door frame, watching me.

My mouth opened and a squeak escaped my lips.

Morelli pushed off the frame and took two steps towards me. "That's not what you were talking about was it?" 

"Yes," I said, quickly. 

It wasn't a lie. I did mean that part, too. There wasn't a point in saying what else I was referring to, right? It would just cause problems. Morelli would get pissed. My Hungarian attitude would come to the surface, and we'd spend the day fighting. I'd run away after throwing clothes in a laundry basket and move back to my … to my what? I didn't have anywhere to move back to. I lived with Morelli.

"_Unhealthy pattern of behavior," _said a little voice in my head.

_I'm choosing my battles,_ I said back.

"_You shouldn't have to lie to your fiancé to avoid a fight,_" said the voice.

"You asked why I was in Miami. Why would you ask that?" Morelli said.

"I was dreaming, Joe. When I woke up I was a little confused."

"You were dreaming about being in Miami?"

I locked eyes with Morelli and for the first time I wasn't able to hold the gaze. As I looked away, I felt the tears suddenly burning in my eyes. There was no need for me to utter the truth. He knew it. I'd been dreaming about Ranger while I slept next to him, in his bed. 

Between the guilt that I was dreaming and couldn't stop thinking of another man and that I did love Morelli just not enough, my heart felt like it was being run over by a semi-truck. And I knew that my pain was nothing compared to what Morelli must be feeling.

I looked back up at him and where I thought I might see rage, I saw nothing. He'd closed himself off to me, hiding his hurt. From me! I'd have preferred the yelling and screaming, this was ten times worse. It made me feel like I didn't have the right to hurt. Like my tears would be a knife to his heart.

I swallowed and fought the burning in my chest. No more lies. No more hurting one man because I didn't have the other to run to. If I really wanted to be with Morelli, to marry him, I wouldn't be thinking about Ranger every day. I wouldn't cry in the shower as Ranger's essence surrounded me or come home in the middle of the day to put on one of his T- shirts to take a nap in or fall asleep with him on my mind every night. And certainly, the fact that I hide all this from Morelli must mean something. 

Did I honestly think marrying Morelli was going to keep me from thinking about and wanting Ranger?

"I … I c-can't," I said, voice cracking, "can't marry you."

The only indication that he heard me was the tightening of his jaw. He gave a slight nod and walked out the bedroom door. I didn't try to stop him. I just watched him walk away and disappear down the stairs. 

I stood in the middle of the room staring down the empty hallway. There'd been no yelling, no questions, no explanations. The reality breakup hurt much worse than the dream version. Never had my heart felt this much pain. Seeing him just walk away without a fight was gut wrenching. The fighting was easier. At least then I'd have anger to push the hurt back. I didn't have that. There was no anger. All I was left with was this burning in my chest that wouldn't go away.

After a few minutes I heard the front door shut, and then a motor catch a moment later. I moved to the window and looked down. He was in his SUV, Bob beside him. As if he felt me watching him, he looked up and our eyes met. I lifted my hand and pressed it to the glass. Was I making a mistake? Should I stop him? We could be good together. We were good together. All I had to do was open the window and yell for him. He'd come back up. We'd work it out.

But I didn't open the window. I didn't say a word. He looked back down and backed out of the driveway as I watched, unable to will myself to stop him.

I stared at the empty driveway for a long time. Not sure what I was hoping for, but there it was. Empty. And here I was standing in Morelli's bedroom. Empty. 

Finally, in a fog, I changed my clothes, gathered everything I owned from the house, and filled my car. Everything was done on auto pilot, well rehearsed. How many times had I moved out on Morelli? This time was different, though. I'd never be back. With Rex's tank under my arm I headed for the door. I slipped my engagement ring off my finger and left it on the table with my house key, locked the door knob, and closed a chapter in my life.

Life will go on, right?

Maybe tomorrow, I thought, with one last look at Morelli's house before pulling out of the driveway.

The drive to my parents' house was slow. It seemed every car in Trenton was out on the side streets leading into The Burg. Like some memo was sent out that I just wanted to be alone and they all needed to extend this torturous burning in my chest. And just knowing that I was going to my parents' house after ending my engagement was enough torture all on its own. If I had anywhere else to go, face to face with my mom would be something I'd put off for at least a month. Unfortunately, I was homeless.

Nobody was waiting on me when I arrived, thankfully. I grabbed my pocketbook and Rex and headed for the house, wishing the grey mass of clouds would pour rain down on me to hide the evidence of my earlier crying. I took a deep breath and opened the front door.

Dad was sitting in his chair in front of the TV. He turned at the sound of the door opening and caught my eyes. I gave him a small smile and headed for the kitchen. Mom and grandma were sitting at the table talking over coffee. Mom saw me first.

"Stephanie?" She started to stand up and I turned my back and set Rex's tank on the counter.

"Joe told us he has a surprise for you today," grandma said to my back. "I'm just dying to know what it is. I have an appointment for my hair in an hour. I need a good story to tell the girls."

"Mother," my mom said, quietly. It was a tone I'd never heard her use before. It must've caught grandma's attention since she stopped talking instantly.

I turned back around and tried to fight the tears but they finally escaped. Mom's eyes widened and she stood up all the way, pushing away from the table. I looked at grandma and maybe for the first time ever I didn't see curiosity burning in her eyes. 

With a last look at my mom, I moved out the door, needing to get away, to be alone. Dad was standing next to the stairs when I made it through the dinning room. He took me in a gentle hug that brought a sob from my mouth. I just wanted to sink into his chest and have him hold me like when I was a kid. 

"You'll make it through this," he said in my ear.

I gave a quick nod and moved up the stairs, shutting the door behind me before falling onto the bed.

Did I do the right thing? Or did I just make the biggest mistake of my life? I should've stopped him. I should've tried to work it out. All of this because of a dream.

_Just a dream._

It wasn't reality. I didn't have Ranger. I'd never really had Ranger. He loves me yes, but what did that mean?

Did I let myself get so drawn into the dream, the feeling of the dream that I destroyed my life? I had a good thing with Morelli. And I just threw that away. For what?

Not for Ranger. I didn't have Ranger. I didn't even know where Ranger was. Ranger thought I was engaged. Ranger could be with somebody else now.

God, no! I couldn't bear that. Besides if he wasn't willing to give a relationship with me a shot then he certainly wouldn't suddenly be involved with another woman.

So why the hell did I throw everything away with Morelli? I loved him and he loved me. Wasn't that good enough?

The tears started again and I curled into a ball, crying myself to sleep.

I woke up when I heard voices in my bedroom. I stayed curled into a ball with my eyes closed and just listened. I could hear my mom whispering but couldn't make out what she was saying. I felt a blanket cover me just before hearing the door shut again.

Opening my eyes, I looked around the room and saw my stuff at the end of my bed. It looked different this time than all the other times I'd been back in this bedroom with my belongings. This time it was _all _my belongings. This time it was final. I closed my eyes again and drifted off, not wanting to start crying again. Not wanting to feel the pain in my chest again.

I slept through dinner and bringing in the New Year. New Year's Day I only left the room long enough to use the bathroom. It was clearly going to take longer for life to go on. I was running out of tears and all I could think about was that time was just pain in disguise.

After three days of getting food and going back to my bedroom, mom finally decided enough was enough.

"Stephanie, you've been in this room for days," she said, after a slight knock. "Clearly you're hurting, so why not go talk to him? Make it better."

"It's too late, mom," I said as I lay on the bed spread-eagle.

"It's never too late if you want to make something work."

I didn't respond because when I said it was too late I meant it. My tears were dried up and I didn't want to work it out with Morelli. I'd spent days thinking about my breakup with him. I'd come to the conclusion that the dream was my subconscious telling me something I'd buried deep inside me somewhere. The dream woke me up, forced me to make a huge confession to myself.

I'd spent years just floating through my life, refusing to make a decision because I wasn't being forced to. But somewhere during the time of floating around I fell completely in love with Ranger. I still loved Morelli, but as I fell deeper in love with Ranger, I fell a little more out of love with Morelli, to the point where I loved him but wasn't _in love_ with him. 

And now that I'd spent days in the bedroom trying to figure it all out, I needed to do something about it. It was too late to make it better with Morelli because my heart completely belonged to Ranger.

I still hurt over losing Morelli, but the hurt was more that I let it drag on for too long. That was a mistake I wasn't going to repeat. I wasn't going to drag out letting Ranger know how I feel about him. 

Well once I find him that is.

"I just needed some time to get stuff figured out, Mom. I needed to do it alone," I told her. "Morelli and I would've been happy, but it would've been forced. Not the happily ever after I'm looking for."

"Do you have somebody in mind for the happily ever after you are looking for?"

I smiled. A real smile. The first one in days. "I have some phone calls to make, but I'll be down for dinner tonight."

"Good," my mother said. "I've made you a pineapple upside down cake."

I watched her walk out the bedroom, closing the door behind her, and I grabbed my phone immediately dialing Ranger's cell phone number. Strangely enough I wasn't nervous this time. Anxious, but not nervous.

It went straight to voicemail. I didn't bother leaving him a message. Tank was next on my list.

"RangeMan," a deep voice said after the second ring, "how may I direct your call?"

"This is Stephanie Plum. I need to speak with Tank."

"One moment, Ms. Plum," the man said and put me on hold.

I waited for a full minute debating what I should say and how I should say it.

"Stephanie?" Tank's booming voice said in my ear. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I just had a question."

He waited for me to continue.

"I was wondering if there were any forth floor apartments open?"

"Fourth … are you in trouble?" he asked, his voice going very serious.

"No. It's nothing like that. I just … I don't …."

"They're all full right now, but one will be open in a week when the guys from Miami head back. You can always stay on seven, you know."

"I know, but I don't know how long it's going to take me to find a new apartment and then I have to get the money together to rent it."

Tank didn't respond. I was sure he wanted me to lay it all out there for him, and he figured I would if he left me hanging in the wind long enough. Not gonna happen.

"I don't want to impose on Ranger's personal space for too long. A week is fine, but any longer than that and I'd be a giant pain in the ass."

Tank snorted. Yes, snorted. I was pretty sure I'd just been insulted.

"Ranger's still gone, so the apartment is all yours," Tank said. "You two can figure it out when he returns. In the mean time you can work for RangeMan and save up some money. We have three new accounts that you can ride along on. Get a feel for the type of security they'll need."

"Thanks, Tank. I'll be over in a little while to get settled in," I said and he disconnected before I got the last word out.

I rushed from the room and jumped in a quick shower, scrubbing, rinsing, moisturizing. After getting dressed I took the first armful down to my car. Dad jumped in and helped me load up all my stuff and he gave me a brief squeeze.

"Will you be back for dinner?" he asked.

"Yep," I said, smiling. "Mom promised pineapple upside down cake. I'm not missing that for anything."

"Would you be willing to stay a little later?"

I raised an eyebrow. The question was odd for my dad. Hell most of the time I didn't think he even realized I was at the dinner table.

"I know you know about Dante. I thought we could talk about it," he said, shifting around on his feet.

Dante! Of course. I'd forgotten all about him.

"Sure dad. I'd like to talk about it."

He gave me a small smile and headed back inside the house. I stuffed myself behind the wheel of the car and headed for RangeMan. Hopefully, I'd be able to weasel out some information on Ranger's whereabouts from one of the guys. 


	9. Chapter 9 Part 1

A/N: Not my characters and they may seem to be OOC at times. They will be back to normal soon. Takes place after LMT. Don't know how many spoilers there'll be. This fic was inspired by a drama that took place on my husband's side of the family. And well Stace said I needed to write it. This story is 100 R rated. Due to language and sexual content.

Thanks to Stayce for editing

Confessions

_"I know you know about Dante. I thought we could talk about it," he said, shifting around on his feet._

_Dante! Of course. I'd forgotten all about him._

_"Sure dad. I'd like to talk about it."_

_He gave me a small smile and headed back inside the house. I stuffed myself behind the wheel of the car and headed for RangeMan. Hopefully, I'd be able to weasel out some information on Ranger's whereabouts from one of the guys._

Chapter Nine: Part 1

When I pulled into the underground garage at RangeMan, all of Ranger's personal vehicles were parked in their designated spots. My heart rate hit marathon speed at the thought of him seven floors above me. Equal parts excitement and dread filled me up. I wanted to see him so badly, but if he _was_ home why hadn't he called me back? Even if he'd talked to Tank and knew I was on my way, I'd left a voicemail, why not return the call?

_He doesn't want to talk to you. _A little voice said in my head.

_Shut up!_ I told the voice.

Tank would've called me if Ranger didn't want me around. Ranger wasn't home. It was simple; one of the guys picked up his vehicle when he left, and brought it back here, as usual.

I shook my head. "Get out of the damn car," I told myself. "You look like a freaking idiot."

Just as I pulled the switch on my trunk and climbed out of my car, the elevator doors slid open and revealed Hal and Cal. Both were dressed in typical black RangeMan clothes and both were huge. Hal wore a boyish smile plastered across his face and his blond hair was a bit longer than the last time I'd seen him. Cal was stoic as always. His head shaved, making the tattoo on his forehead more pronounced.

I smiled and gave them a finger wave as they made their way over to me.

"Hey, Steph," Hal said. "Came down to give you a hand." He looked in my car and gave a wave to the camera.

A moment later, Vince and Bobby exited the stairs. Between the five of us we got everything gathered up and headed to the elevator. I shifted things around to free a hand and dug out my keys and pointed my remote at the control panel. For a second I wondered if we'd even move with this much weight on board. I should've known better, though. This was Ranger's building. The elevator started moving up without so much as a hiccough.

"So is Ranger home?" I said, flicking a glance at each man on the elevator with me.

Cal and Vince stared straight at the doors, no acknowledgement I'd said a word. Bobby looked at me, but didn't say anything.

"No," Hal finally said.

I nodded and debated how much I should ask the guys. They didn't seem overjoyed to answer my questions or even to talk to me for that matter.

"Does he know I'm here?"

The guys shuffled around a bit, and I my stomach crept up into my throat. Was I paranoid? Did the fact that they seemed reluctant to even look me in the eyes mean anything or was that completely normal behavior?

"Not that we know of, Steph," Bobby said. "He's out of contact right now."

The elevator stopped on the sixth floor and Ella joined us.

It was quiet for the short ride and after less than a minute the doors opened on the seventh floor. We exited to the entrance hall, and I moved to the front, where I unlocked the door to Ranger's apartment.

"Take everything into the bedroom, boys," Ella said. She'd pushed her way through the mass of bodies and marched straight to the bedroom, not a moment's hesitation to see if we'd all follow.

I did follow, reluctantly and unsure if this was the wisest of my decisions. Ella came up here to move me in, but maybe it was better if I just left everything in the bags and baskets since I'd only planned to stay in the apartment for a week. I didn't want Ranger to come home and find me completely moved into his space. Not exactly the way I wanted our reunion to happen. I knew I was always welcome, but this might stretch the limit a tad.

"We can just put everything in the closet so it's out of the way," I said from my position at the end of the bed. "I'll only be here for a week tops."

"Nonsense," Ella said. "I won't have you living out of baskets."

"It's not a problem. Really."

"Not on my watch, dear. I won't hear of it. There's plenty of room to unpack you."

The guys looked like they were watching a grueling tennis match. Their heads bounced from me to Ella, unsure about which of us was in charge.

"Put everything down here in the bedroom, boys," she said, her voice left no room for arguments.

The guys did exactly what they were told and hustled out of the apartment.

"You go relax, dear," Ella told me. "I've got this under control."

There was a second I hesitated before I left the room to hunt for food. I grabbed a beer from the fridge and I looked at a **banana** in the fruit basket on the counter. Not a good combination. The beer was a must. I took one last look at the yellow fruit and snatched it up. It was just to make me feel better about drinking the beer.

I left the kitchen and headed for the living room. My purse and the banana hit the coffee table, and I hit the couch. I flipped the TV on and popped open my beer.

I was in the process of channel surfing through the million channels when Ella came out of the bedroom with two throw blankets. One was **pink** and the other mint green. She placed one on the couch and the other on the chair and started back to the bedroom.

"Wait," I said, following her movement through the room.

She paused and looked at me.

"I don't think this is a good idea. Ranger keeps this apartment very impersonal. I don't think he'd appreciate all this. It's bad enough that I've moved in without his knowledge."

"Don't be silly. He'll be happy you're here. And this place needs all the personal touches it can get."

"I agree that it could use the personal touch, but I don't think he'd be happy with them."

Ella smiled and left the room.

With a last look around the living room, I grabbed my cell **phone** from my purse and dialed Tank.

"Tank here," he said after two rings.

"Have you talked to Ranger?" I said.

Silence stretched between us.

"Tank, please," I said after a moment. "I need to know if he knows I'm here."

"No he doesn't. Should it matter?"

"Yes! At least I'd know he was prepared that I was actually living here."

"Something you need to tell me."

"Ella is moving me in," I said on a sigh. "Throw blankets on the furniture. I'm just waiting for the pictures she'll find to be put up all over the place."

"Shit!"

"Not exactly the hello I was aiming for when Ranger gets home."

"Ranger knows what Ella's like."

Was that intended to be comforting? "Will you just let me know when the other apartment opens up? I'd feel more comfortable having my stuff all over the place in one of the fourth floor apartments."

"I let you know," he said and disconnected the call.

I tossed my cell phone back in my purse and looked at my beer. It wasn't helping. I could still hear Ella humming away in the bedroom, and the blankets were taunting me. I need some **aspirin**, I thought as I resumed channel surfing. There had to be something on the freaking TV that would sufficiently distract me from the scary blankets on the couch and chair. There was only one thing I could do about the situation. Once Ella was gone, I'd simply pack everything back up again, stuff it in my **backseat**, and haul it to my parents' house, so she wouldn't be tempted to drag it back out of a box and decorate the apartment again.

It was nearly five-thirty when I finally shut down the TV. Ella was still busy humming and unpacking. I didn't understand why she was still in there. It wasn't like I owned that much stuff and I certainly didn't need every article of clothing put in Ranger's closet.

I squeezed my eyes shut and let out a sigh. There was no way I wanted to be here when Ranger got home.

"Ella I'm headed out," I said as I stood up and grabbed my purse.

"Have a nice night, dear," Ella called back from the bedroom.

Something told me the evening wouldn't exactly be nice. Dinner at my parents' house was rarely nice. A three-ring circus was a better description, and that was without the pending doom of the broken engagement and talk of Dante.

Funny, how when I thought about Dante I didn't feel the anxiety and burning curiosity to know him. I didn't really feel anything. Only a little over twenty-four hours had passed since I found out about him, but the dream really took the punch out of the new found information. He felt like old news now.

I got on the elevator and hit the button for the garage. It came to a stop on the forth floor and two men dressed in all black stepped through the doors. They were decent looking men, but not even close to the typical RangeMan employee. They had the muscle on top of muscle and not a drop of fat, but they lacked in the looks department. By no means would they catch a double glance or even a dribble of drool.

"Well hello," one of them said to me. "Who might you be?"

He flashed me every white tooth in his mouth and he sounded so … greasy. Like one of those guys that latches on to you in the bar and you can't get rid of.

"I'm Stephanie Plum. I'm guessing you're here from the Miami office?"

"We sure are," Greasy said and introduced them as Hank and Cory. Hank was greasy. Cory hadn't opened his mouth as of yet.

"Do you work here?" Hank said as he moved closer to me and ran a finger on my arm.

"Sometimes," I said, wishing the elevator would hurry the fuck up.

"Do you help Ella out? I don't know how she keeps this entire building so perfect."

"I … me … help …" I couldn't help myself and burst out laughing.

"No," I said after I calmed down. "I don't help Ella out. I'm not a good cleaner and the only things I can cook are sandwiches and microwavable mac and cheese." The elevator came to a gradual stop. "I'm a bounty hunter, work distraction jobs, and help the guys out with searches when they need it."

"You're a bounty hunter?" Hank said. A smirk played across his lips.

I smiled and stepped out of the elevator just as Lester and Bobby exited the stairs.

"Hey Steph," Lester said, his arm snaking around my shoulders. "You all settled in?"

"Ella is still settling me in."

Lester and Bobby both grinned knowing exactly what that meant.

"Settled in? Are you staying in the building," Hank, the greasy, arrogant man asked from behind us.

I groaned and tried to ignore him, but Lester forced me to turn with him to look at the Miami boys. I slid him a death glare, and noticed he was working up one of his own aimed at Hank. That brought a smile to my face.

"I take it you've met the Miami guys," Lester asked, his arms tightened around me in a protective gesture.

"We just met in the elevator. I think I shocked them with the news of being a bounty hunter. Hank here thought I was Ella's helper."

Bobby burst out laughing. "You'd burn the building down if you tried to help Ella."

"Hey!" I said without much heat. It was true after all.

"Do you live on the fourth floor," Hank asked. He was determined!

"I live on the seventh floor." No point trying to hide it. They'd figure it out sooner or later.

The smile vanished from Hank's lips and in a flash a leering smirk appeared. "Oh I see."

"What exactly do you see?" My eyes were narrowed and I was working up my full Jersey attitude.

"Don't get me wrong. It's cool the boss let's his woman play with the big boys."

Lester's hand tightened on my shoulder. I wasn't sure if he was trying to calm me down or if he was trying to calm himself down. Probably he was worried I'd leap the two feet to Hank and beat him to a bloody pulp. That wasn't exactly my plan. My plan had more to do with the gun in the back of Lester's pants.

"Stephanie," Lester mumbled as he grabbed my hand just as it found his gun, "we'd have to dispose of the body."

"Are you new to RangeMan, Hank," I asked and pulled away from Lester with my teeth clenched.

"No, Ma'am," Hank said, a sick little leer plastered to his lips.

"So you've met Ranger?"

"Yes, Stephanie, I've met Ranger."

Hank thought he was cute. Hank didn't know who he was messing with.

"Oh, okay, now I understand. See for a minute there I was confused. I get it now. You're just stupid."

Lester and Bobby laughed as Hank's mouth dropped open for a moment before his expression took on a dark look. I resisted the urge to step back into Lester's embrace. No way would I let this toad think I was intimidated by him for even a second.

With my eye zeroed in on Hank, I took another step to him, my eyes narrowed further yet as I slipped my hand in my purse. "You'd have to be one serious dumb fuck if you thought Ranger, the man that reduces men to peeing themselves with just a look, would EVER let a piece of ass work at his company." My hand closed over my stun gun. "Only a dumb fuck would think that Ranger would move a piece of ass into his apartment." I took one final step so I was right in front of Hank and pulled the stun gun from my purse, pushing it into his crotch. "And I'm nobody's piece of ass, dumb fuck," I said and pressed the pretty button on my stun gun.

Hank let out a yelp and dropped to the ground.

"My work here is finished. I'll see you guys later. I'm headed to my parents' house for dinner," I told Lester and Bobby and headed to my car. I was sure they would've walked me the rest of the way but they were doubled over laughing at poor Hank.

Maybe being entertainment wasn't such a bad thing. They weren't laughing at me after all. They were laughing at what I did to somebody else. I turned and looked at the guys and they were watching me, bright smiles stretched across their faces. My tummy flipped and I couldn't help but smile back.

I got in my car and looked up to see Cory watching me with a small smile on his lips. So not all Miami guys were idiots.


	10. Chapter 9 Part 2

A/N: Not my characters and they may seem to be OOC at times. They will be back to normal soon. Takes place after LMT. Don't know how many spoilers there'll be. This fic was inspired by a drama that took place on my husband's side of the family. And well Stace said I needed to write it. This story is 100 R rated. Due to language and sexual content.

Thanks to Haleigh for letting me bounce ideas off her and for getting my muse to cooperate.

Thanks to Stayce for editing

Confessions

Chapter Nine: Part 2

When I arrived at my parents' house my mom and grandma were standing at the door waiting for me. Sometimes I wondered how long they stood there waiting. Was it an internal radar that indicated I was on my way? Did they just randomly stop by the door to check?

"Stephanie, you're here early. You can help us get the food to the table," my mother said as she led me into the house. "Your sister called and they won't be able to make it tonight. Lisa isn't feeling well."

There is a God. I set my purse on the table next to the door and followed my mom and grandma into the dinning room. My dad was at the table in his typical place with his fork and knife in his hands as he waited for the meal to appear before him. We exchanged hellos and I went into the kitchen to help with the food.

Five minutes later the table was loaded with dishes and we all sat down. The food was passed around and we settled into eating without talking. We weren't that big on talking while we ate normally, but tonight felt strained. Like everybody was afraid of touching on a topic that might be uncomfortable.

It was ridiculous. Eventually we'd have to discuss what happened.

"How was your hair appointment the other day," I asked grandma and scooped up a bite of mashed potatoes.

"Oh it was great," she said, breaking out of her unusual silence. "When I got there they were talking about …" Her eyes widened a bit and she looked down at her plate.

"It's fine, grandma."

She looked up at me, her eyes flashed with uncertainty for a moment and then she jumped into her normal excited talking. "At first they were just talking about how Joseph drove off and then you loaded up your car and drove off."

I figured it'd gone around that fast. I was actually surprised word hadn't reached my mom before I showed up. I'd have figured the calls would've started after the first load to the car. Maybe the neighbors were momentarily shocked.

"It was actually quite boring. They got all hyped up when I showed up. Started drilling me about what happened. Of course I didn't have anything to tell them. I thought about coming up with a whopper of a story, but nothing came to me."

"Mother!" my mom said. But I didn't really care. I was just glad the tiptoeing was over with.

"My hair turned out great, though," grandma continued as if mom hadn't said a word.

Mom shot grandma a look, and then turned her attention to me. "What did happen, Stephanie?"

I looked up and met her eyes. "I woke up."

"Where are you staying?"

"RangeMan. I need time to save up some money for a new apartment. Between working for Vinnie and RangeMan, I should be able to save enough in a month or two."

"You could've stayed here."

I fought the eye twitch and smiled at my mom. "I know that. And I appreciate it, but you don't need any more bodies in this house."

Dad looked relieved and went back to stuffing his face. For the rest of the meal, the only noise was scraping and clinking of silverware on the dishes. Soon we stood to clear the table.

"You go talk with your dad. Mother and I will clear the table," my mom told me.

Dad and I were starting out of the dinning room when my cell phone rang. I briefly thought about just letting it go to voice mail, but Ranger's face flashed through my mind. It could be him and I didn't want to miss his call.

I moved around the corner and stuffed my hand in my purse. My hand closed in around the phone and I flipped it open before I even removed it.

"Hello," I said when I got it to my ear.

"Babe."

Ranger's voice floated over me, relaxing me in an instant. I'd never wanted to hear his voice so much before.

"Hi," I said, my voice was no louder than a whisper.

"I just got your message. Are you okay?"

A smile spread over my lips. "I'm fine."

There was a moment of silence before Ranger spoke again. "I just landed in Newark. I should be back at Haywood in an hour. You wanna meet me there?"

"See you then," I said and waited to hear him disconnect, but it didn't happen.

"You sure you're okay?"

"I am now." This time he did disconnect.

I closed my phone and smiled. He was home. We were finally gonna see each other, hold each other. I couldn't wait to feel his lips on mine, his fingers on my face.

I put my phone back in my purse and went into the living room.

Dad was already sitting in his chair in front of the TV. I walked past him and sat on the couch, drawing his attention to me. Suddenly I felt quite nervous. I wasn't sure how Dad felt about talking about Dante. If I had to guess it wasn't a comfortable topic. It had to hurt thinking about your wife's affair. And not just about the affair but also about how the affair ended in a pregnancy.

"Was that Ranger," he asked.

"Yeah. He just landed in Newark," I said.

Dad watched me for a moment, not giving anything away on his features and for the first time I was reminded of Ranger. I never would've thought dad had a lick of Ranger's tendencies in him. But here he sat with a blank face on.

"Your mother told me she informed you about Dante. I know we should've told you years ago about him, but …" He broke off and ran his hands down his face, his eyes closed, lips tight, shoulders sagging.

The sense of nervousness went away and was replaced with a hurting heart. I didn't want to see my dad ache. I always thought of him as the strong male presence in my family. He clearly didn't want to have this conversation, but felt he needed to, had to.

"Dad, I …" I didn't know what to say. I could see he was fighting to regain control over his emotions. "We don't …"

"No, it's okay," he said, his voice strong. Instantly his shoulders went straight, his face blank again. "We need to talk about this."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'm curious about your plans now that you know the truth," he said, his gaze steady on me.

"I don't really have any plans." I paused and thought about it. What did I really want to do? "I suppose there's a part of me that's curious, but that's kinda died since mom told me."

"You wouldn't be you if you weren't curious, and I want you to know I'm okay with you looking him up."

I looked at him, looked in his eyes. I wasn't fooled. I didn't even think he was fooling himself. He was far from okay with it. My guess was he'd rather face grandma naked than deal with Dante back in his life. Problem was I didn't know if he wasn't really okay with it because he didn't want to have the man that slept with his wife back around or if it was because he didn't know where that left him and me. It was most likely a mixture of the two.

"You are and always will be my dad. My only dad. If I decide to look Dante up, it won't be to make contact with him. I don't know if I'll ever really be ready for that. Maybe, if I'd known when I was younger, but not now. The most I'd want to know is a little about him," I said.

Dad's eyes softened at my words for a second, and then faster than I could blink flashed to hard, angry. "I'd tell you about him, but I never met him. Nor do I have a desire to do so. All I know of him is he's the kind of man I'd never want you to be with. The kind of man that has no respect for boundaries. He couldn't find his own woman so he pursued mine."

His words stopped me cold and I felt the color drain from my face.


	11. Chapter 9 Part 3

A/N: Not my characters and they may seem to be OOC at times. They will be back to normal soon. Takes place after LMT. Don't know how many spoilers there'll be. This fic was inspired by a drama that took place on my husband's side of the family. And well Stace said I needed to write it. This story is 100 R rated. Due to language and sexual content.

Thanks to Haleigh for letting me bounce ideas off her and for getting my muse to cooperate.

Thanks to Stayce for editing

Confessions

_Dad's eyes softened at my words for a second, and then faster than I could blink flashed to hard, angry. "I'd tell you about him, but I never met him. Nor do I have a desire to do so. All I know of him is he's the kind of man I'd never want you to be with. The kind of man that has no respect for boundaries. He couldn't find his own woman so he pursued mine."_

_His words stopped me cold and I felt the color drain from my face._

Chapter Nine: Part 3

I knew he was talking about Dante and my mom, but I couldn't help seeing the resemblance to Ranger and me. Something inside me needed to know if he was really telling me that he didn't approve of Ranger. I didn't know what I'd do if he didn't. I wanted my parents to approve of the man in my life. Or in this case the man I wanted in my life. Mom had already made it very clear that she knew I was in love with Ranger. That didn't really tell me she approved, but she hadn't said she didn't.

Now that I think about it, I think mom really told me about Dante because she also saw the resemblance to my relationships with Ranger and Morelli. By telling me she stopped what I was positive would've happened a year down the road. Married to Morelli but sleeping with Ranger.

Dad's eyes were still hard and angry and focused somewhere over my shoulder. I knew what it felt like to have your spouse cheat, but I think the pain and hurt in Dad's eyes were very different from what my eyes displayed for all to see after Dickie cheated. I was never in love with Dickie like Dad loved Mom. I was just pissed as hell when I found my husband boinking another woman.

"Dad, sometimes it's more than just the man pursing a taken woman. Women are very capable of pursuing a man when they are taken." Jesus what was I saying? There was no stopping me as I plunged on. "And sometimes it's about love not just lust."

Dad looked hard at me, his words pierced with anger. "There's never an excuse to cheat."

"I'm not saying it's acceptable. I'm just saying that sometimes, it may have started out innocently. A friendship and it turned into love. Once your heart loves another it makes logic a bit gray. The boundary lines get fuzzy. In your head you know it's wrong, but your heart just wants your head to shut up."

"Stephanie, you're the last person I'd ever expect to okay betrayal. No matter the circumstances," Dad said as he leaned back in his chair. "If a person is so unhappy that they seek out companionship with another person, they should end the marriage or relationship they are in. Cheating hurts. I thought you knew that."

I looked down at my hands, my eyes burning. I took a deep breath to control my emotions. No way did I want my dad to see how much this conversation hit too close to home. I'd spent years allowing Ranger to pursue me, to kiss and touch me while I dated and even lived with Morelli. Dad may know what it felt like to have somebody you love care for another person, but in no way did he know what it felt like to be so torn between two men.

"It's easy to say what's right and wrong, but it's not quite so easy when you find yourself in the situation first hand." I stood up and looked down at my father, knowing he'd never approve of my relationship with Ranger because of what my mom did to him. It pained me to know that and now I didn't know what to do about being in love with the kind of man he deeply loathed.

Dad looked up at me, disproval written all over his face at every word I'd uttered. I shook my head and walked out of the living room. Mom came out of the dinning room just as I reached for my purse. She looked at me and whipped her head to my dad, who was still sitting in his chair in the living room watching my every move.

"What happened," she asked, her voice a bit squeaky.

I shook my head as I fought to keep hold of my traitorous tear ducts. I had to leave before I completely lost it.

"Stephanie," my dad said from the living room. I turned and looked at him, begging him to understand. He didn't.

"I get how you feel," I told him. "Really I do, but you don't understand. It's not always cut and dried, black and white. You're lucky that you've never had to experience your heart and head torn. So very lucky." I turned and walked out the door.

My mother was hot on my heels. "Tell me what happened, Stephanie. Maybe I can help. I can talk to him."

"There's nothing you can do. He doesn't understand. But I get why you told me about Dante, now. It was a little late, though."

Mom's mouth dropped open and I walked to my car, feeling like a twenty pound weight was added to my shoulders. I wasn't going to cry, though. No matter how bad I wanted to. I wasn't going to allow myself. No good could come of crying. It wouldn't fix anything. I was in a situation where I had to make a choice. Do I betray my dad and be with Ranger or do I betray myself and walk away from the man I loved to make my dad happy? Could I walk away from Ranger? After everything that happened, could I throw all my feelings away and go back to just being friends with him? Of course that really was all we were as of this moment. Maybe I was getting ahead of myself. I didn't even know if Ranger wanted me. Maybe I didn't even have to make the choice. Ranger might have already decided for us.

Jesus that hurt worse.

I got in my car and turned the engine over. The second I pulled away from the curb my tears turned on like a faucet, running down my face and blurring my vision. I couldn't stop them and strangely I didn't want to. I was sick of fighting my feelings. Sick of holding them back. What was wrong with letting myself cry? I was so confused and hurt. My chest was tight and my heart felt like it was exploding into a million tiny pieces.

I stopped at a light, silently staring straight ahead as tears cascaded down my cheeks. Suddenly a car behind me honked, startling me. I looked up seeing the green light. It still took me a second to register what that meant, and then pushed the gas peddle.

Before I knew it I as sitting in front of the RangeMan underground garage, watching the gate open for me and didn't even know how long I'd sat there staring into nothing. With a sharp shake of my head I pulled in and parked the car in my designated spot. I shifted my car into park, shut the engine off, and dropped my head back with my eyes closed. I needed to get myself under control before getting out. Ranger would be back at any moment if he wasn't back already. I didn't want him to see me like this.

I brought my hands to my face and realized for the first time that they were shaking. I clenched them into fists and took a few deep breaths, desperate to regain my control. After a few seconds I shook my hands and wiped my face off. I knew my eyes were probably red and puffy, but there was nothing I could do about that. For now I needed the tears gone and I needed to get out of my car.

With one last deep breath, I grabbed my purse and opened my car door. No sooner had I shut the door then the elevator doors slid open to reveal Ranger. My feet started moving even without being told and I met him half way. He reached out and stroked my cheek and then ran his thumb under one of my eyes. I knew right then and there that there was no way I could give him up. If he'd have me, I was his. Whether my dad approved or not.

"Babe," Ranger said on an exhale.

"Have you ever had a dream that felt so real, you had a hard time realizing it wasn't? Then once you realized it was just a dream, you wished with all your heart you could be back there? Back in the dream."

His hand slid down my cheek and curled around my head, his fingers tangled in my hair. "What happened in the hour since I talked to you," Ranger asked. "You told me you were fine. This doesn't look fine to me."

"There was a confession, and then a dream, but I woke up. Waking up meant more confessions. More talking. Earth shattering, heart breaking, talking." I knew I was babbling, but hell I was past the point of coherent talking.

Ranger wrapped his arm around me and steered me to the elevator. He pointed his fob at the control panel and off we went for the seventh floor.


	12. Chapter 10 Part 1

A/N: Not my characters and they may seem to be OOC at times. They will be back to normal soon. Takes place after LMT. Don't know how many spoilers there'll be. This fic was inspired by a drama that took place on my husband's side of the family. And well Stace said I needed to write it. This story is 100 R rated. Due to language and sexual content.

Thanks to Stayce for editing

Confessions

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_His hand slid down my cheek and curled around my head, his fingers tangled in my hair. "What happened in the hour since I talked to you," Ranger asked. "You told me you were fine. This doesn't look fine to me."_

_"There was a confession, and then a dream, but I woke up. Waking up meant more confessions. More talking. Earth shattering, heart breaking, talking." I knew I was babbling, but hell I was past the point of coherent talking._

_Ranger wrapped his arm around me and steered me to the elevator. He pointed his fob at the control panel and off we went for the seventh floor._

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Chapter Ten: Part One

Ranger kept me tucked in beside him the entire ride up to his apartment. When the elevator stopped he moved his hand up my back to settle on my neck. His touch was warm on my skin and invaded my senses. He guided me from the elevator to his apartment door. He paused before turning the knob and looked down at me. I couldn't read the expression on his face, but it was something. Definitely not blank. Amused maybe? Perplexed?

"Babe, I think we need to talk about the apartment."

"What about the …." My eyes widened and my mouth dropped open. Oh. My. God. I'd completely forgotten about Ella moving me in. I figured I had time to undo her damage before Ranger got home. I shoulda known he'd come home before I got a chance. Maybe he wouldn't ship me off to some third world country that spoke no English.

"It's not my fault!" It wasn't. Not a damn bit of it was my doing. Ella was a force to be reckoned with.

He laughed and pulled me through the apartment door. "It never is, Babe."

I heard the door close behind me and the first thing I noticed was a picture on the table next to the mail instead of the fresh flowers. It was one of my favorites. Lula took it without us knowing and made me a copy. We were standing in front of Ranger's truck outside the bonds office. His fingers were next to my ear and we were looking at each other. I couldn't see the expression on my face in the picture, but Ranger's was a mixture of lust, love, and amusement. When I'd first seen the picture I was shocked his face wasn't blank.

Clearly Ella found my picture box. She was fast. None of the pictures were framed since I never displayed them in my apartment or at Morelli's house. I didn't think he would've appreciated pictures of me with Ranger and MM on the walls in his house.

I could feel Ranger at my back as I moved into the living area to look around. The pink and mint green blankets were still in position on the couch and chair, but my attention was really on the end table and coffee table and the wall next the TV. I whirled around and saw more picture covered walls. She'd pretty much framed every picture I had of me with the guys and displayed them on every available surface.

I groaned and hid my face in my hands. Maybe I could talk him into shipping me off to some place warm. I mean if I had to suffer through lack of Ranger induced orgasms, I needed hot bodied cabana boys that would rub me down with oil as I lounged on a beach somewhere.

Probably he wouldn't see that as a punishment for desecrating his apartment. Probably I was screwed and not in a good way.

"My favorite is the picture on the nightstand in the bedroom," Ranger said in my ear, his voice was low and his breath tickled my ear, shooting desire through my body. "Where did you get these pictures?"

I spun around and looked him in the eyes. No way was I ready to divulge that secret. Okay so some of them came from Lula. As it turned out, Lula packed her camera around quite often and managed to capture Ranger and me together without us ever knowing. Probably just without me knowing, but I always figured Ranger had a clue. Maybe he didn't.

"I've had a really long night, Ranger. What I really want is to just go to bed. Do you think we can hold this conversation off until tomorrow?"

A soft smile graced his perfect lips, and then he reached up and twirled one of my curls around his finger. "This must be a good story."

Well, crap! I wasn't tired in the least, but at least I knew subject changing didn't work on Batman. I'd have to pull out the big guns.

I stepped closer to him, where we were almost touching, and looked up at him through lowered lashes. I slipped into my sex kitten voice. "I was thinking you'd like to come to bed with me."

Ranger's hand crept behind my head, his fingers tangling in my hair as his face dropped so our lips were millimeters apart. His breath hot against my lips and I had to work hard at not moaning. His tongue darted out and lazily dragged across my bottom lip, drawing the moan deep from my chest. The lower half of my body moved snug against his all on its own. I felt his hips against mine and I rocked mine just to get us closer. He was hard and another moan was ripped from my mouth.

He paused and I felt his fingers dig into my hair, sending a shiver racing down my body. "I thought you were trying to distract me. You were serious?"

"I _was_ trying to distract you. But you one-upped me, and that has me in a serious state. So now I'm _very_ serious about bed."

He pulled back a bit and looked me right in the eyes, his gaze unwavering as he spoke to me. His voice was so low he was almost whispering. "Why did you move into my apartment?"

"The forth floor was taken. I gave up my apartment when I agreed to marry Morelli. Now that I'm not marring him, I needed a place to live. My parents' house got a bit claustrophobic after a week."

His hand moved down my body in a soft, sensual brush, until he found my hand. His fingers moved across mine, finding my bare ring finger and massaged down it, making my knees weak as desire pooled in my belly. "Why aren't you marring Morelli?"

I ran my hands up his arms and across his chest to his heart. It was thumping hard against my fingers. "Turns out when you think about another man every waking moment and dream about him to the point that your traumatized the dream wasn't real, you shouldn't get married to somebody else."

I figured now was the time he'd ask me who ended the engagement. I knew that was important for some reason. Was I here with a broken heart and looking for a replacement? Or was I here because I needed to be with the man I couldn't get out of my every thought? He had to know that he was the other man I was talking about. There'd never been anybody else but him and Morelli.

Ranger's gaze was still locked with mine and I felt him searching my eyes for the answers he needed. Without another word between us I watched as he got his answer. Next thing I knew his lips crashed into mine in a bruising kiss. My fingers curled into his shirt, pulling him closer as I opened my mouth and plunged my tongue between his parted lips. A gasp slipped from me as our tongues collided, and he picked me up, carrying me as he moved quickly through the apartment, our passion building with every step.

I wrapped my legs around his waist and tangled my hands in his hair, holding him to me as we kissed, pouring out all the emotions of lost time. Time we'd never get back, but that I was more than willing to make up for, every day for the rest of my life if that was what it took. I'd just have to convince Ranger if he wasn't sure.


	13. Chapter 10 Part 2

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_I figured now was the time he'd ask me who ended the engagement. I knew that was important for some reason. Was I here with a broken heart and looking for a replacement? Or was I here because I needed to be with the man I couldn't get out of my every thought? He had to know that he was the other man I was talking about. There'd never been anybody else but him and Morelli._

_Ranger's gaze was still locked with mine and I could feel him searching my eyes for the answers he needed. Without another word between us I watched as he got his answer. Next thing I knew his lips crashed into mine in a bruising kiss. My fingers curled into his shirt, pulling him closer as I opened my mouth and plunged my tongue between his parted lips. A gasp slipped from me as our tongues collided, and he picked me up, carrying me as he moved quickly through the apartment, our passion building with every step._

_I wrapped my legs around his waist and tangled my hands in his hair, holding him to me as we kissed, pouring out all the emotions of lost time. Time we'd never get back, but that I was more than willing to make up for, every day for the rest of my life if that was what it took. I'd just have to convince Ranger if he wasn't sure._

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Chapter Ten Part 2

Ranger eased us down in the middle of his bed. Our mouths still locked, tongues battling. I tightened my legs, pulling him even closer to me. His hardness pressed directly on my center and I moaned as I tore my mouth from his, desperation suddenly filling me. I needed him inside me and I need it now!

Ranger's mouth went to my neck, licking and nipping at my pulse point. I grabbed the back of his shirt and jerked it from his cargo pants, my hands meeting naked flesh. His skin was hot under my hands and I was taken back to my dream, our bodies flushed and slick with sweat as he pounded into me over and over again. In the dream we were together in every way, but we weren't now.

OMG I couldn't do this. Not right now. Not like this.

"Ranger," I gasped out. "Wait."

He pulled back from my neck and looked at me. "Do you want me, Babe?"

"Very much so."

"What's the problem then?"

"The problem is you wanting me."

"I think it's obvious how much I want you."

"Physically, yes."

Ranger sat back on his heels, putting some distance between us. "I've never hidden the fact that I want you."

"No you haven't, but what I don't know is what you want beyond getting me naked and putting a smile on my face."

Ranger smiled. "Probably I'll want to do it again."

I laughed lightly even though my chest was heavy. "I have no doubt about that. The problem I have is I want more than just a sexual relationship with you."

His gaze was locked with mine as he did some sort of silent debating. I was getting nervous under his stare and shifted a bit on the bed. His gaze left mine and dropped down my body. He still hadn't said a word and I didn't know what he was thinking. Probably where to send me since I'd just pulled away from sex again. This time it wasn't because I didn't want it, though. 'Cause God! I wanted it. But I wanted _him_ more. Not just his body, him.

Ranger's eyes returned to mine and he dropped down between my legs again. His weight was rested on his arms propped next to my head. His eyes still on me, reading my thoughts probably.

"There's something I'm curious about, Babe."

"W-w-what?" Jesus the man had me on fire and all he was doing was looking at me. He'd placed his body strategically so we weren't groin to groin, but hell I knew he was still hard. And I very much still wanted him.

While still looking me in my eyes, his fingers started tracing lines down my temples, tormenting me. I was sure he could feel my nipples pressed into his chest. They were so hard, aching to be touched, to feel his lips drawing them into hot mouth.

"What kind of relationship would you say we have right now?" he finally asked.

"We're friends."

"And?"

I let out a sigh. "Closer than friends, but not lovers. We care for each other. We're attracted to each other."

Ranger leaned his head down to my ear, his teeth nipped at my lobe. "What about love?"

"What about it?"

"Do you love me?" he asked in my ear, his voice soft, sensual.

I swallowed hard, scared to say that I did. Scared that he loved me back, but not the same way I loved him.

He pulled back from me and looked me in the eyes. "Do you love me?" he asked again.

My eyes burned as tears blinded me, making Ranger's face blurry. I wanted to say yes. More than anything I wanted the words to come out of my mouth, but I couldn't seem to get my mouth to cooperate.

A blank mask slammed over Ranger's features and he pulled away from me. I desperately grabbed the front of his shirt. He didn't understand. Saying I did wasn't so easy when I didn't know where'd it get me. It'd be like jumping off a cliff and not knowing if my parachute was going to open. I wasn't good at risks.

Ranger sat up dragging me with him since I refused to let go of his shirt. I moved faster than I'd ever moved before and straddled his lap. His hands immediately went to my hips and started to lift me off of him, but out of sheer desperation I wrapped myself around him and kissed him hard.

He pulled his mouth away from mine and gave me a cold look. "What, now you wanna fuck?" His voice was harsh, hurtful.

I flinched but didn't release my grip on him. "Haven't you _ever_ been scared?"

"What are you scared of?" His blank mask was still in place, but his voice wasn't as harsh. It still wasn't back to normal, though either.

I looked into his eyes, the eyes that plagued my every thought, my every dream. Wasn't that enough to make the jump? If I didn't take the risk, I'd never know if he loved me as much as I loved him.

"Scared that what you felt inside wouldn't be enough or it wouldn't make a difference or it wasn't returned?" I knew I was babbling incoherently, but I hoped he'd get it. Even if he only partially understood. I just wanted him to get that I did love him, but was too damn chicken to actually say it because I didn't know what would come of the confession.

He was silent, staring at me for what seemed like forever. Then he tightened his grip on my hips and pulled me flush against his, momentarily shocking me. "How many different ways do I have to tell you that I love you before it sinks in?"

"I know you love me. That's not the part I'm scared about. It's how you love me that I'm uncertain of."

He blinked at me and for the first time ever, I think Batman looked confused.

"You love me in your own way. What is that way? The way that requires a condom but not a ring? The way that's not family material?"

"Answer me a question, Babe," Ranger said, trailing a hand up my body to cup my cheek. "Do you love me?"

I nodded. "Yes, I love you."

He smiled and brushed his lips against mine. "And in what way do you love me?"

I raised my eyebrows, not knowing what the heck he was doing. "I don't understand."

"How do you love me?"

I rolled my eyes at him. Sheesh, could he be any clearer?

"The only way I know how, I guess," I told him.

The corners of his lips tipped up. "So in your own way, then?"

"Yeah, smartass, I guess in my own way."

He leaned in and kissed me, long and drugging with lots of tongue. "That's good to know since it's really hard to love somebody in any way but your own way."

I leaned my forehead against his. "I agree, but I still don't know what your way is."

"Nor do I know what your way is," he said equally as soft as my words were. "Does your love for me depend on a ring or children or a house in the Burg with a white picket fence?"

I shuddered at the thought of living in the Burg. I'd shoot myself first. But the rest I didn't know about.

I pulled back from him and looked him in the eyes. "It doesn't depend on anything. I love you now and I don't have any of that with you."

"And what about five years from now?" he asked.

"I don't know. I have a hard time believing I could ever stop loving you, but I honestly don't know what might happen in five years."

Ranger was silent, processing the information.

"What about you? Does your way only exist if I don't want the ring or children? Are those things never a possibility? Are you telling me you'll only love me if I don't want you as my husband or to create and raise children together?"

"I love you no matter what. When I told you my love didn't come with a ring, I was trying to tell you that as of this moment in my life I don't want to get married again, but that I still love you."

"So we love each other and there are no stipulations on the love."

"Never."

"The stipulations are on the relationship," I said, but didn't wait for Ranger to respond. "Where does this get us? As of this moment I don't want to get married either, but what about in five years? What if I want more and you still don't? Then what? Do we go our separate ways?"


	14. Chapter 11

A/N: Not my characters and they may seem to be OOC at times. They will be back to normal soon. Takes place after LMT. Don't know how many spoilers there'll be. This fic was inspired by a drama that took place on my husband's side of the family. And well Stace said I needed to write it. This story is 100 R rated. Due to language and sexual content.

I'm sooooo, sooooo, sorry for the long wait on this chapter. I'm already working on the next chapter and I promise I won't go missing for months again before this story is over.

Confessions

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_"What about you? Does your way only exist if I don't want the ring or children? Are those things never a possibility? Are you telling me you'll only love me if I don't want you as my husband or to create and raise children together?"_

_"I love you no matter what. When I told you my love didn't come with a ring, I was trying to tell you that as of this moment in my life I don't want to get married again, but that I still love you."_

_"So we love each other and there are no stipulations on the love."_

_"Never."_

_"The stipulations are on the relationship," I said, but didn't wait for Ranger to respond. "Where does this get us? As of this moment I don't want to get married either, but what about in five years? What if I want more and you still don't? Then what? Do we go our_ _separate ways?"_

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**Chapter Eleven**

Ranger ran his hands down his face and let out a light groan. This was his version of throwing things and screaming. I'd only seen him this frustrated one other time. That time was Diesel frustration.

"Babe, stop," he finally said, "Backup and let's start over." He rearranged us so we were lying on our sides facing each other and laced his fingers through my left hand. I automatically hooked my leg around his, dragging the lower half of our bodies together. For some reason I still needed the closeness.

"What brought all this on?" Ranger asked.

"This?"

"The need to define our relationship. Wanting a relationship."

"I've always wanted a relationship with you."

Ranger lifted an eyebrow.

"I have. Always wanted more than what we had and more then just sex. You never offered to give me more."

His second eyebrow joined the first and they were both closing in on his hairline. "You've never told me what it is that you exactly want. You've asked questions that led me to believe you wanted a family man, not a relationship that was built on love and respect, without needing marriage and kids and a house with a picket fence."

I thought about what he was saying. It was true, if looked at on face value, it appeared I was seeking a husband and father. Was that what I wanted? What I needed? I suppose deep down the want was there somewhere, but I certainly didn't need it.

"We've never really talked about marriage or families, beyond a few stray comments. You've always emphasized not being the marrying type or family material. I asked if would ever change because I thought you were also saying you weren't relationship material either. It didn't surprise me, but I still had to ask."

"Babe," Ranger said on an exhale. "I'm not relationship material. My lifestyle is hard on relationships."

"I know, but can you blame me for hoping that hard didn't necessarily mean impossible?" I asked, praying I didn't sound desperate. I wanted us together, but I wasn't going to beg. Too much anyway.

Ranger's gaze held mine and I stopped breathing. I sort of spaced out from lack of oxygen and when I heard him utter the word impossible it infuriated me. "Do you think my life is easy on relationships? I freaking get kidnapped, held at gun or knife point, and my cars blow up on a regular basis. You say your life doesn't lend itself to relationships! What about mine? I'm a walking disaster, Ranger. So I ask why? Why the fuck is it so damn impossible?"

Ranger's eyebrow quirked and he grinned.

Stupid grin!

"Babe, I said it's not impossible."

"Oh," I said, looking at him. "OH! Wait, what are you saying? What does that mean?"

"It doesn't mean anything right now. Not until I know what is it you want?"

"What are you offering?"

"I don't know, yet," he said, tucking me closer to him. "I need to know what you expect, what you want, so I know if it's something I can give you."

I looked away from his eyes. I hated this. If there was something I was really bad at it was the deep relationship talks. Why couldn't we just say let's give it a shot and just go from day to day? Why did we have to figure it all out before we even started? I didn't know what he expected of me. Did he want me to put it all out there and pray he'd go for it? Or did I go for the self-preservation method I was so good at and only spout out the minimum and pray I could settle for it?

"Tell me what you want, Steph. Everything going through your head. No settling."

I looked into Ranger's eyes, still feeling unsure if that was the best plan. "You'll tell me what you want? What you need?"

"Yes."

"And if we decide we can't make a relationship work between us, will you promise me right now that we _will _keep everything we already have? No matter what. Nothing changes from where we are right now before trying at a relationship?"

"Nothing will change. Not now, not ever."

"Promise me, Ranger. Nothing changes. Not our friendship or the support or the respect or the trust or …"

"The love, Babe? Nothing changes. I promise." He brushed a kiss across my lips.

"Okay."

Okay, what? Why did I say okay? I wasn't okay. I didn't have a clue what okay even meant. Did I even know what I wanted? What were my expectations of a relationship with Ranger? Nobody had ever asked me what I wanted before. I'd never even considered what my expectations in a relationship were. What if they were too much? What if Ranger just couldn't deal with the expectations? Could I really continue being friends with him when I knew I wanted more? Something told me it would be hard this time around if that was what it came to. We'd never discussed the possibility of a relationship before. This could change everything. Destroy everything we'd built over the years.

I looked into his eyes and knew we were lying to ourselves and each other. The moment I said I wanted more, everything changed. And now there was no going back. Even if we never started a relationship, nothing would be the same. He knew I loved him, loved him. And I knew his love wasn't qualified. I'd never be able to just be with him as friends knowing I wanted more and so did he, but we couldn't make it work so we were both satisfied. The kissing would have to stop. The touching, too. I wouldn't be able to stand his penetrating looks either.

I felt my eyes burning as I realized this was it. It was a relationship or we were finished. Sure we'd still be friends, but we wouldn't be the same. We'd be strained. I'd always wonder if he was seeing somebody and it would eat me up inside. I wouldn't be able to look at him the same or even be around him

Ranger's hand cupped my chin and a tear escaped, running down my cheek. He swiped it with his thumb.

"This … this is it … isn't it," I said, struggling to get the words out and breathe at the same time.

Ranger nodded and brought my hand to his mouth. He placed a kiss in the center of my palm, breaking my heart.

"No … but … I don't want that. I didn't mean for this to happen." I pulled away from Ranger and pushed myself back to the edge of the bed. "You promised. You lied to me!"

"Yes," he said after a moment. "And I'd lie again. If it means having more of you, I'll take the risk, Babe."

I leaped off the bed, hands fisted on my hips. "You'll take the risk? Even if it means we don't make it as a couple in the end? You'd throw what we have away for the chance to possibly be _more_?"

"I'd do everything in my power to make sure you stayed in my life. We'd probably be different, but I'd still love you. No matter what."

I couldn't take it. It was beyond frustrating. I threw my hands in the air and turned, stomping out of the bedroom. I needed to pace. It felt like there was a knife stabbing me in the gut. What had I done? How could I not see that saying I wanted more from Ranger, would change our relationship completely?

"Babe," Ranger said from behind me.

I whipped around and looked at him. He was leaning against his bedroom doorframe, arms crossed across his chest. "I couldn't be around you knowing it wasn't me making sure you're needs were met."

Ranger smiled. "And how do you know when it was that my needs were last met?"

"I don't, and I'm sure I still wouldn't, and that would drive me up a wall. Every time I saw you, I'd wonder if you were seeing somebody. Wonder if you were in a physical relationship or if it was more. If I'd ever see you together, or hear about it. I couldn't do it, Ranger. I just couldn't. I'd have to cut myself off from you."

Ranger pushed off the doorframe and stalked towards me. "And you think it'd be easy for me? You think I want to see you dating somebody else someday? Knowing you were sleeping with him," Ranger said, heat dripping from his words. "I couldn't do that, Stephanie. You'd hate me 'cause I'd ruin any love life you might eventually have."

"I could never hate you, and I don't want anybody else. Don't you get that," I said, moving to him, meeting him half way. "I want you, dammit. YOU!" I pounded on his chest as the flood gates opened up. He wrapped his arms around me, hugging me to him as I continued to hit him in the chest with every tear that escaped my eyes. I just wanted him to hurt like me, to feel the pain I felt in my chest.

"Babe," he whispered in my ear, sending shivers down my back and calming me down just a bit.

"I want _you,_" I said, my mouth on his chest, muffling my words.

I kept repeating myself until my voice cracked and instantly I was angry again. I shoved off from him. "I hate you for making me hurt this much. I hate you for waiting this long to tell me you love me with out the qualifiers. I hate you for qualifying your love in the first place. I hate you for being able to reduce me to mush with just a touch or a look or a kiss." My voice broke again. "And I really hate you because I can't help but love you so much and want you in my life forever."

He stepped closer to me, within touching distance and I shoved him back as hard as I could. "I hate you the most because I can't hate you. Not even a little bit."

He grabbed my wrists and pulled me to him, his mouth met mine hard and demanding. He shoved his tongue between my lips and pushed me backward until my legs hit the couch. Suddenly he was on top of me, pressing me into the cushions, my arms above my head held tight in his hands. A half growl half moan erupted from me as I struggled to break from his tight hold on my wrists. He released me only to move his hands to my hair, pulling as he broke the kiss and moved to my neck, biting and sucking. It was all it took to unearth the wild beast inside me. I started tearing at his clothes. There was nothing gentle about us now. Our hands worked furiously at each other's clothes, ripping and fighting to be skin to skin, leaving no room for backing out. We'd finish talking later, much later. Right now there was only one thing we needed, and words wouldn't help.

It was hard and fast and filled with explosive passion, but never once in my life had it been so satisfying. We finished together screaming each other's names and clung together gasping for air.

I wasn't sure how long we stayed joined panting, but finally Ranger rolled us and he moaned as his back hit the back of the couch. I couldn't help but be slightly proud that I left marks on his beautiful mocha skin. And I'd gloat, but I wasn't in much better shape. There had to be bruises from where his fingers dug into my skin. But I was still in an orgasmic high. I'd worry about the bruising later. Like when I tried to walk.

"Babe," he moaned again, "I think you ripped the skin right off my back."

I tried with all my might to stop it, but the giggle erupted anyway. "I'd say I was sorry, but it would be a lie, so I won't bother."

He pulled me tighter to him and smiled. "I'd tell you paybacks are a bitch, but I'm positive I gave it as good as I got."

"I haven't tried to move yet, so I'm not sure how bad it's gonna be."

He chuckled and kissed me softly before propping his head up on his hand. "You realize we only have one option, right."

"What's that?"

"You want me and I want you. Neither of us wants to watch the person we love with somebody else. That leaves us one option."

"How does that only leave us one option?"

"You want more than just a physical relationship, so that option is out. I love you and I need more of you in my life, so just friends is completely out."

"Yes, but you don't want to ever get married again and you don't ever want any more kids. What kind of relationship does that leave us with?"

"One that we take day by day, month by month, year by year. One that's based on love and understanding and respect. We don't try to change the other person, but each of us understands that changing is something we need to do on our own to make us stronger together. We share and merge our lives as much as we _can_. We understand that we come with a past and not always is that past going to be liked, but we respect each other enough to be understanding and supportive."

When Ranger finished it took me a few seconds to comprehend what he was saying. Those were his expectations. What he wanted. It was a very grown up relationship. Something I'd never really done before. But it was something I wanted. More importantly it was something I could and would do.

"We communicate about our wants and needs?" I asked.

He nodded. "And we listen even if it's something we don't want to hear. We trust and respect each other completely. There's no leeway there. It's all the way or it won't work. There has to be compromises. We won't always agree and we will fight, but we don't walk away from each other."

"Agreed," I said, with a sharp nod. My old ways would be the first change I'd have to make. Ranger wouldn't do timeouts. I had to be in this all the way or not at all. No half-assing it like with Morelli.

"We doing this, Babe? You and me?"

"Just you and me," I said. "Exclusive."

"Babe," Ranger said, his eyes getting dark. "I don't share. Especially you. Not now that you're mine."

"Yours." I liked the way that sounded. I liked it a lot.

I leaned in and kissed his lips, lingering just a bit. "Mine," I whispered against his mouth.

"Yours," he whispered back, his lips caressing mine.

"It's not going to be easy, Babe," Ranger said, caressing my back.

"I know. But it's what I want. I want you, want us."

Ranger chuckled. "Yeah, I got that."

"Mmmm." I snuggled in closer to Ranger's neck, placing a soft kiss every so often. Ranger's hand was on my back, holding me to him, the soft beating of his heart lulling me to sleep.

"What happened with Morelli?" Ranger asked.

"What?" I leaned my head out from under his chin and looked at him. "You want to talk about this now?" Sheesh, I could think of a million better things to do. Like sleep!

"I feel like I'm behind on your life, and I don't like that," he said, lacing our fingers together and resting them on my hip.

"I suppose it all started just before New Year's Eve," I started.

Ranger's thumb traced slow comforting circles on my hip as I told him all about my mother's affair. It was weird, but the more times I told this story the less it meant. And even though really I'd only told the story once … to Morelli, I still felt like I'd told it to Morelli twice and now Ranger twice.

"So this Dante guy is your biological father," Ranger said, his eyes watching me closely.

I did a shrug nod thing. I just didn't care anymore. The punch was gone. Okay so that wasn't completely true. I was still a bit curious. But only a bit.

"That's just how it all started, though. Not really the answer to your question. Once I got home, Morelli had a bunch of the guys over and I just wanted to be alone. Have some quiet time to absorb the new information and how it was going to alter my life."

"Has it altered your life, Babe?"

I looked at him, naked, beside me, touching me. "Oh yeah!"

His eyebrow jumped up and the corners of his mouth twitched up at the corners. "How so?"

"Well once I got upstairs in my kinda quiet at Morelli's, I got in the shower to … think, I guess." I looked into Ranger's eyes and felt my cheeks get warm. I didn't want to tell him that I was so obsessed with him while he was gone that I showered with his gel, slept in his shirt, thought about him pretty much every single day, and dreamt about him almost every night. No way did I want to tell him I had such a powerful dream about him that I had a hard time realizing it wasn't real when I finally woke up. It was embarrassing as hell. It was probably enough to have him running, screaming from the room.

"Babe?"

"It's just you were on my mind. Pretty much the only thing on my mind when I got back to Morelli's. The only reason my mom told me anything was because she knew I was in love with two men. She thought if she didn't tell me about her mistake that I'd make the same one. Married to Morelli but sleeping with you." I took a deep breath and barreled on. "So she opened … well not opened. Cracked at, chipped away at this wall I've created inside myself. It's okay for me to know how I feel about the men in my life, but to talk about it, to share the information behind the wall of denial is a really bad thing."

"Steph."

"No don't, Ranger. She hacked away at my wall until she could see through the holes. Admitting out loud that I missed you and what my fears were and that I loved you, was … it stripped away the barriers I've kept up for years. My protective shield. When it's just me and the information, I can shove it to the side and pretend it doesn't matter. But when other people can see what's going on inside me …" I faded off, unable to get my thoughts together.

With a shake of my head to get myself together I moved on. "Anyway because of the conversation with my mom, you were all I could think about. I knew you were who I wanted to talk to. Who I wanted to help me if I chose to look Dante up. There was no doubt in my head that you would think of me and only me. You wouldn't care how it looked if I sought him out. You wouldn't tell me to think about my mom or dad or sister or the neighbors.

"But it was more than that. I needed you, too. Needed to see you, to talk to you. Not just because I wanted your help, but because I missed you, because I love you. So when I got out of the shower I called you. I finally got up the courage to actually let the call go through. I left you the message and flopped back on the bed, where I promptly fell asleep. Only the damn dream felt so real, that when Morelli woke me up the next morning I didn't quite realize I'd been dreaming."

"This was the dream you wanted to go back to?" Ranger asked, his head tilted slightly while watching me.

"Yes," I admitted, my voice whisper soft.

Ranger's eyes held a curiosity I'd never seen living there before. Of course it could've just been that now he was allowing me to see he was actually human after all.

"Why?" Ranger asked, bring me out of my trance.

I knew why, but I wasn't so sure how to vocalize it. "I'm not sure I can really explain it."

Ranger nodded and stayed quiet, waiting for me to continue with my story.

"In my dream, I'd just fallen into a wall head first, so as I was waking up I was expecting the mother of all head aches, but it wasn't there and the voice was wrong. So I was instantly confused. And of course since my mouth has no filtering system, I said the first thing I was thinking to Morelli."

Ranger's eyebrow perked up when I paused. I groaned, unsure of the response I was going to get when I admitted to him where I was at in my dream.

"I asked him what he was doing in Miami," I said, quickly.

Just the corners of Ranger's mouth tipped up at first, but slowly the smirk turned into his full blown 200-watt smile. It was so not funny. Okay so technically when it happened it wasn't funny and really even now I wouldn't call it funny. But looking back on it, I could definitely see the slight comical side to it.

"Stop smiling."

"Babe." The smile transformed into a small chuckle.

"Ranger I asked him why he was in Miami for Christ's Sake. While in his bed and wearing the engagement ring he put on my finger."

"Yes," Ranger said, going back to his trademark lip-tipped smirk.

I rolled my eyes. "It went down hill from there. He didn't get a chance to really think about what I said because I sort of went crazy. I was confused and didn't remember falling asleep. I didn't know what was a dream and what was real.

"Once I realized what was real, I was … I was a mess. It was only after I'd calmed down a bit, and he was headed out of the room to take a shower, did he actually process what I'd said about Miami. I told him I couldn't marry him and he left."

Ranger pulled me closer and pressed a kiss to my forehead. "No yelling, wild arm flapping?"

I couldn't help but smile. "It was all quiet. He didn't say a word. He just walked out the door. We haven't talked since."

"And what are you thinking about Dante? What do you want to do about him?"

I tucked my head under Ranger's chin and closed my eyes. "I don't know."


End file.
